Pedagogical Approaches and Policy Course Requirements

Brian Shoup, Indiana University

This is the third in a series of four reports on the policy field, based on the survey of members of the APSA Public Policy Section that was conducted last fall.  In the previous issue of Policy Currents, we reported on what departments and research organizations are seeking with regard to the teaching and research interests of prospective faculty and staff.  In this issue we report information about course requirements and pedagogical approaches employed in different departments as they relate to the teaching of public policy.

At the outset, we separated into a separate category any institution that concentrates on undergraduate education.  These 27 schools consist largely of four-year liberal arts colleges and universities that do not grant graduate-level degrees.  These departments were analyzed separately so as to provide a more thorough overview of how policy is taught at different types of institutions.  The remaining 107 schools are those that offer some sort of graduate training, in addition to undergraduate education.  It should be noted that some departments offer a terminal Master’s or M.P.A. degree.  This accounts for the relatively large number of respondents who answered “Not Applicable” for questions about their Ph.D. program.  Finally, a total of 6 cases were dropped as these respondents were employed either with government agencies or private research firms that do not focus on education.

            The first battery of questions asked about the types of policy courses that students are required to take.  The first question asked whether the department requires majors to take a course on policy theory or analysis.   Since relatively few undergraduate departments offer degrees in public policy analysis, it is not surprising to observe that few departments require such courses.  Of the 27 respondents who teach and research at four-year liberal arts colleges or departments that do not grant degrees beyond the undergraduate level, only 7 report that their department requires that majors take a course related to public policy analysis.  Similarly, undergraduates at research universities tend not to be required to take such courses.  At the M.A. and Ph.D. level, however, many departments tend to require courses in policy theory.  Table One presents responses to the question “Does your department require majors to take a policy theory course?”

 

It is important to note that several of the respondents to the survey teach at policy schools that offer terminal M.P.A. degrees.  This partly accounts for the higher number of M.A.-level programs that require policy theory courses.  At the same time, however, survey responses suggest that course requirements at the graduate level are more likely to stress policy theory.

            The next question focuses on specific policy courses in an attempt to see if departments require study in a substantive policy area.  Specifically, respondents were  asked if their department requires majors to take one or more substantive policy courses.  Interestingly, more respondents report that their departments require majors to study specific policy areas than to take courses on policy analysis or policy theory.  This is reported in Table Two.

 

This difference is not as pronounced at graduate degree granting institutions.  In fact, the responses reported in Table One are almost identical to the responses about substantive policy course requirements, especially at the M.A. and Ph.D. levels. 

            Section members were also asked whether their departments require students at varying levels of study to take courses in quantitative or qualitative methodology.  Respondents who teach at liberal arts colleges and university departments without M.A. or Ph.D. programs report that their undergraduates are likely to be required to take some type of course in either quantitative or qualitative methods.  Of the 27 respondents in this group, 17 report that these types of courses are required in their departments as opposed to 10 respondents whose departments do not require such classes.  Table Three reports the responses from members at research universities for this question.

 

The data provided by respondents suggest that the departments covered by the survey require at least an introduction to quantitative methods such as regression or time series or qualitative methods like ethnography or participant observation.  This is especially prevalent at the M.A. and Ph.D. levels where methodological training is increasingly important. 

            While methodological training tends to be required at many of the colleges and universities covered by the survey, foreign language requirements are not as common, especially at the graduate level.  Section members were asked whether their departments require majors to study a foreign language.  Undergraduate-level requirements, especially at liberal arts schools, are more likely to require some exposure to a foreign language.  Of the 27 respondents in this group, 12 report that their department requires a language skill and 15 report that there is no such requirement in their department.  A slightly lower proportion (25%) of undergraduate departments at research universities require students to take a foreign language.  These numbers decrease considerably when looking at M.A. and Ph.D.-level requirements.

 

The final set of questions asked members whether their department requires majors to do fieldwork, internships, or some sort of service-learning requirement.  Interestingly, members report that M.A.-level students in their departments are more likely than either undergraduates or Ph.D.-level students to have to meet such requirements at graduate degree granting institutions.  Undergraduates at liberal arts colleges are also more likely to have to meet these requirements.  Of the 27 respondents in this group, 11 teach and do research in departments that require some sort of nonclassroom experience.  Undergraduates at departments in research universities appear much less likely to have to satisfy either fieldwork, internships, or service-learning requirements.  Table Five reports the responses to this question for graduate degree granting institutions.

 

            At the graduate level, 41% of respondents report that M.A.-level students in their departments are required to do some sort of fieldwork or internship as part of their training.  In contrast, very few respondents report that Ph.D. level students are required to do much fieldwork as part of their degree. 

            In the next issue of Policy Currents, we will complete our series of reports from last year’s survey of section members.  In this last report, we will examine some of the books and articles that have had an impact on the policy field as assessed by the section membership. 

 

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Shoup, Brian. 2001. "Pedagogical Approaches and Policy Course Requirements." Policy Currents. 11(1). 7.

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