Putting Parental Pushback in Context

A Comparative Case Study of a School District’s Gender Policy-As-Practice

Bibliographic Data

ID21581983
AuthorsCarolina Snaider (0000-0001-9473-4643, University of Austin at Texas, USA, corresponding author), M Moschetti (0000-0002-0162-6860, Universitat Autonòma de Barcelona), Mauro C Moschetti (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona)
Year2026
Volume40
Issue5
Pages653-681
Publication date2026-07-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueEducational Policy (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0895-9048 • E-ISSN: 1552-3896
PublisherSAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/08959048251387034
OpenAlexW4415655749
LanguageEN
References cited24

This study examines the formation and implementation of the New York City Department of Education’s Gender Guidelines. Drawing on 41 interviews with policymakers, professional development providers, and school staff, as well as policy documents and media sources, we examine how marked fears of pushback influenced policy formation and shaped how schools interpreted and took up the policy. The case of NYC offers a valuable example of how policies can leverage pushback and motivate positive school cultural change when they incorporate the appropriate human and material resources to scaffold whole-school deliberation and conciliatory processes. Ultimately, we argue that policy stakeholders would benefit from carefully attending to the roots and nuances of parents’ dissenting perspectives throughout the formation and implementation of gender policies

Comparative case · Deliberation · Dissenting opinion · Public policy · Gender Politics and Representation · Gender Roles and Identity Studies · School Choice and Performance

Tools

Open DOIOpen Access