Placating Policy: Setting and Implementing Policy for Wicked Educational Issues

Focusing on the core-curriculum policy enacted in the Israeli educational system and imposed on the ultra-orthodox (UO) Jewish sector, the study attempts to answer the following question: How do politicians act when obliged to set and implement a policy for a wicked problem they wish to avoid? Data analysis revealed five features characterizing politicians’ reluctance to initiate the policy: procrastination, deception, reliance on secondary arrangements, wording open for interpretation, and flexible inception. Evidence indicated that policy-makers articulated a “placating policy,” creating an illusion that students coming from the UO sector study the core curriculum and that the issue is managed.