Who Shapes The Classroom? A Case Study of Congress, the President, and Their Motivations For Involvement in Federal Educational Policy

This paper examines three major influences on legislative and presidential decision-making. These three influences are 1) an officeholder\u27s personal views, generated by socialization and experiences prior to holding office, 2) the political institutions, which speak to the complexities and many actors involved who shape the prioritization of issues, and 3) an office-holder\u27s responsibility to a constituency which is motivated by reelection hopes. To create this model, a case study of four members of the U.S. House of Representatives and President Barack Obama was conducted regarding their involvement with federal educational policy. This framework can be further developed for the purpose of being used to describe legislative and presidential decision making in general