Policies provide guidelines for the operation of a particular system, especially one that has a hierarchical structure. Education, perhaps the most important system in our nation, is no different. Good policy guides decision making. No policy makes decision-making unreliable and sporadic. And bad policies do way more harm than good. And policy is just the start. What happens after the policy is in place is what is the most important. In this episode, Dr. Darleen Opfer discusses the importance of policies and provides perspective on how stakeholders can improve them.
About Dr. Opfer
Darleen began her career as a special education teacher in Florida and then Virginia. After earning her Ph.D. in education policy at the University of Virginia, she became a professor of education policy. She served in that role at Georgia State University, Ohio State University, and the University of Cambridge. Throughout her career, her focus has been on using evidence to improve schools for low-income and minority students.
In 2011 she joined RAND as Director of RAND Education. In October 2018 she was promoted to Vice President and became Director of the RAND Education and Labor Research Division; she also holds the Distinguished Chair in Education Policy. As the leader of RAND Education and Labor's staff of more than 200 experts from a wide range of disciplines, she is responsible for all aspects of divisional management including business development, financial and strategic planning, staff development, ensuring quality standards, and dissemination of research findings.