linking academic study and practice professor john craig teaching politics in our universities 18 th...
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Linking academic study and practice
Professor John Craig
Teaching politics in our universities
18th September 2015
English Elite Model
A “belief that a liberal elite education could best be acquired through acquaintance with the political philosophies of Plato and Aristotle, coupled with a knowledge of the history of the political systems of Athens and Rome, survived the second world war” (Haywood 1991)
American Civic Model
Education to equip citizens to participate in society through the development of:• The ability to reason and makes
judgements • Knowledge of public institutions• A normative commitment to liberal
democracy
Professional Model
Recognition of the need for education for bureaucrats and public officials, but influenced by:• Wilsonian separation of politics and
administration• Breach of the boundaries of the discipline
of political studies/science
The mid-century fall…
• The rise of value free social science and behavioralism in the 1950s challenges the humanistic, civic and professional traditions
• Over the next half-century further theoretical and methodological developments intensify these trends
• “countless articles and books of self-serving theory… exclusionary jargon and esoteric algebra… isolate the political science community” (Robinson 2000)
• Inherent tensions between the empirical study of actually existing political processes and normative positions – the ‘tragedy of political science’ (Ricci 1984)
• Diamond (1977) the tension is what makes our discipline distinct – embrace it and explore the contradictions
• Multiple other versions of this relationship periodically advocated and practiced by academics, students and government
• Finally, the extent of the break can be over-emphasised – critical and analytic political science produces critical and analytical citizens (Leiserson 1965)
The mid-century fall…
Reconsidering why?
To prepare students to undertake roles as active citizens, public officials or political leaders
Which requires:• Being clear what each of these involves• Acknowledging and living within the tension
between study and practice• Academics and students engaging with the
normative underpinnings
Learners and Curriculum
Students on non-vocational courses such as BA Politics• Typically broad based introductions to the discipline within an
college or university environment
Students on vocationally oriented educational courses • Masters in Public Administration
Student involved in role related education• Wrage (2012) – US Midshipmen • Brown and Syme-Taylor (2012) – Military officers in UK• Hemery (2002) – career diplomats• Hale (2013) – local elected councilors• Pidani (1999) – elected members of parliament
Why do practitioners need political science?• Traditional rationale around technical experts being
promoted into roles with policy responsibilities.• In public service, changing relationships between the
state and citizens (Quinn 2013)• In military, diplomatic and security contexts – changing
environment with the end of the cold war, war of global terrorism, nation building and conflict resolution (Klinger 2004)
• Partial reversal of the ‘need more skills’ argument for undergraduates – these are often ‘need more theory’ justifications
Taking Learning Out
• Placement learning typically full-time students working in a political environment for a period of time
• Opportunities to experience ‘real world of politics’ and develop relevant skills
• Engagement of practitioner as ‘teachers’• Different placements emphasize
leadership, citizenship or professional elements
Effective Placement Learning
• Experience is transformed into knowledge through the process of critical reflection
• Students need to make between their experiences and their learning, through teaching and assessment (Usher 1993)
• Strategies include: research reports linked to placement; assignment briefs requiring use of theory to assess practice; action research project.
Bringing Practice In
• Approaches include simulations and case-based learning
• Learning activities in which students engage with problem-based scenarios, typically working in groups to develop a position or take a decision within a constrained context
• Greater emphasis in simulation on fidelity of experience
• Both attempt to bring an experience of practice into the classroom
Examples
SAP Budget Simulation• 1.5 days• Students grouped in
team roles • Extensive preparation
with paper and video resources
• Set-piece budget negotiation at end of process
School Closure CBL• 2hrs• Groups are not
differentiated• Brief and simplified
materials• Reporting of decision
within teaching context
Advantages
• Effective active learning approaches within the educational setting
• Controlled setting for learning• Typically lower set-up costs for staff and
students• Scope for innovation - Cowley & Stuart
(2015) example of a politician participating in a classroom simulation
Challenges
• Set-up and organisation• Appropriate assessment for learning• Validity of the experience – what does it
teach students?• Integration into learning – what are the
intended outcomes and implicit messages?
57 Varieties…
• Guest lectures from activists, officials and politicians
• Field trips for students to visit parliaments, council chambers or campaign groups
• Courses that explicitly teach students political skills – Kiernan (2012) ‘how to protest’
• Courses that use ‘live’ events in teaching or assessment
Conclusions
• The relationship between the study and practice of politics is contested and is in the DNA of the discipline
• There is wide range of innovative practice in diverse settings that can inform what we do
• But the ‘why’ cannot be escaped – what is it that we are aiming to achieve?
• And this is a question of politics and political theory more than of educational practice