Punctuated+Equilibrium

Title: Punctuated Equilibrium

Submitted by: Lora Cohen Vogel & Michael McLendon Alternate Name:

"Punctuated equilibrium has become a widely recognized phrase since paleontologists Niles Eldredge and Stephen Jay Gould (1972) coined it as an alternative to the Darwinian model of phyletic gradualism that dominated evolutionary theory throughout much of the 20th century. In its original usage, the phrase characterized evolutionary change as one taking place over long periods of “stasis,” in which species remain virtually unchanged, “punctuated” by relatively brief periods of intense change when new species are introduced, old ones become extinct, and existing ones experience sudden permutations. Whereas traditional views of evolution suggested a gradual and linear process of speciation in which ancestors and descendants are linked by a “long sequence of continuous, insensibly graded intermediate forms” (Eldredge & Gould, 1972, p. 89), the fossil record reveals a pattern of interruptions in the process. Addressing this discrepancy, Eldredge and Gould’s punctuated equilibrium notion thus characterized natural history as one of long periods of stability and gradualism, punctuated by rapid and transformative episodes of intense change. By the 1980s, similar ideas had gained traction in political science, where analysts had begun elaborating on them in an effort to better explain the dynamics of change in American governmental systems. In this context, the term punctuated equilibrium came to refer to a “sudden, transformative change in an otherwise stable system” (Kelly, 1994,p. 165). Baumgartner and Jones’ (1991, 1993) PE theory emerged as the most comprehensive, well-developed and prominent application of this principle (Sabatier, 1999b). Drawing heavily on the case of civilian nuclear policy since World War II, Baumgartner and Jones (1991, 1993) argue that, when viewed over the long run, American public policy exhibits periods of “relative gridlock [equilibrium] interspersed by episodes of dramatic change [disequilibrium],” rather than the steady, predictable incremental-like tendencies conventionally attributed to it (1993, p. 10)."

(Excerpt from Cohen-Vogel, L. & McLendon, M. (2009). New approaches to understanding federal involvement in education. In D. Plank, G. Sykes, and B. Schneider (Eds.), //Handbook of Education Policy Research. A Handbook for the American Educational Research Association//. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.)


 * References: **

Baumgartner, F. R., & Jones, B. D. (1991). Agenda dynamics and policy subsystems. //Journal of Politics, 53//, 1044-1074

Baumgartner, F. R., & Jones, B. D. (1993). //Agendas and instability in American politics//. Chicago: University of Chicago Press

Eldredge, N., & Gould, S. J. (1972). Punctuated equilibria: An alternative to phyletic gradualism. In T. Schopf (Ed.), //Models in Paleobiology// (pp. 82-115). San Francisco: Freeman

True, J. L., Jones, B. D., & Baumgartner, F. R. (1999). Punctuated-equilibrium theory. In P.A. Sabatier (Ed.), //Theories of the policy process// (pp. 97-115). Boulder, CO: Westview Press


 * References applying the framework: **

True, J. L. (2000). Avalanches and incrementalism. //American Review of Public Administration, 30//, 3-18.

McLendon, M., & Cohen-Vogel, L. (2008). Understanding educational policy-making in the American states: Lessons from political science. In B.S. Cooper, L. Fusarelli, and J. Cibulka (Eds.), //Handbook of Educational Politics and Policy.// Oxford, UK: Routledge, Taylor and Francis.

Kelly, S. Q. (1994). Punctuated change and the era of divided government. In L. Dodd & C. Jillson (Ed.), //New perspectives on American politic//s (pp. 162-190). Washington, DC: Congressional Quarterly Press

Orr-Bement, D. M. (2002, November 21). A theoretical perspective of the state policy process for higher education policy decisions. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Association for the Study of Higher Education, Sacramento, CA

Robinson, S. E. (2004). Punctuated equilibrium, bureaucratization, and budgetary change in schools. //Policy Studies Journal, 32//, 25 – 39.

Sims, C. H., & Miskel, C. G. (2001, March). The punctuated equilibrium of national reading policy: Literacy's changing images and venues. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Seattle, WA.

Sims, C. H., & Miskel, C. G. (2003). The punctuated equilibrium of national reading policy: Literacy's changing images and venues. In W. Hoy & C. Miskel (Eds.), //Studies in leading and organizing schools// (pp. 1 - 26). Greenwich, CT: Information Age