Stephen Ball’s contributions to a policy study

This book shares the study, from a micropolitical perspective, of the relationships between the context of production and practice (Ball, 2002) of a university policy called "Programa Acompanante Alumno" [PAA, 2005-2010] of the Universidad Nacional de La Pampa-Arg. [UNLPam], aimed at the admission and permanence of its incoming students. It is organized in six sections. The first one mentions the theoretical perspective that guided the research. The second, approaches theoretically and interpretatively the object of study from five axes of discussion: its institutionalization process, micropolitical actions of resistance, regularities and ruptures, the organization in relation to the context of practice and the links between AA-entry students and between the former and the TC. The third considers assumptions about university entrance that configure different meanings about it. The fourth considers the evaluations made of the PAA by the AAs and the TC. As for the fifth, new explanatory dimensions of the research problem are revealed. Finally, final reflections and challenges to problematize educational policies from the proposed approach.