The Wording of Policy: Does it Make any Difference in Implementation?

Abstract

Policy‐making groups take the wording of policies to be important with respect to eventual implementation. Implementors (contrary to policy makers′ assumptions) are more likely to be unable to implement authoritative policy than unwilling to do so. Policy implementors do not discriminate between policy language variations unless they are in an environment which places high value on other variables like resources at the locus of implementation. The language used is nevertheless important.

Citation

Johnston, A.P. and Moore, J.B. (1990), "The Wording of Policy: Does it Make any Difference in Implementation?", Journal of Educational Administration, Vol. 28 No. 2. https://doi.org/10.1108/09578239010137645