Details
April 13, 2019
9:00AM - 10:15AM
Short Course 5: Big Problems Deserve Better Solutions: Scaffolding Students’ Understanding of Policy
Providence II - 3rd Level
Academicians in the field of communication studies play an important role in shaping the civic engagement futures of their students. Put another way, helping students realize their potential as active participants and change agents in government and policy is an amazing opportunity. As Bill Gates notes, "Governments will always play a huge part in solving big problems. They set public policy and are uniquely able to provide the resources to make sure solutions reach everyone who needs them. They also fund basic research, which is a crucial component of the innovation that improves life for everyone." Gates' thoughts on the interaction of public policy and government are spot on, but how can instructors help students navigate the messy and often overly politicized reality of public policy in U.S. government? In my short course, participants will be able to evaluate contemporary social problems through a policymaker lens that will help make sense of social and governmental policy design.
This short course will be substantive, yet efficient. Attendees will learn about topics critical to understanding government policy (both local and federal) in practice. Helping students navigate the complex process of policy development can prove challenging, but instructors who attend this course will quickly learn how to recognize and design policies that best fit pressing social problems. This course will be an engaging session as we unlock the black box of basic public policy together. Attendees will be introduced to key terms and concepts associated with policymaking. A critical goal of this short course is to help attendees quickly develop a policy vocabulary and become informed consumers of policy. They can pass this knowledge to students who need to act as advocates for social change.
Using classic theories and concepts related to policy, short course attendees will have an opportunity to learn definitions of policy instruments - capacity builders, mandates, inducements and system changes (McDonnell & Elmore, 1987) - and then identify them in real world scenarios. We will also cover how implementation of policies garner the most success when policymakers take into consideration issues related to scale (Coburn, 2003) and agencies that can best bring policies to fruition (Bach, Niklasson & Painter, 2012).
Marcy Milhomme, Penn State University
