Deakin case study

The Policy Internship program at Deakin University, Australia was established in 1998. The initial proposal was that third-year students should have the option of working with and doing research for both public and private agencies. The plan was to place students in organizations for a period of one day per week for a semester in third year where they could demonstrate their skills to prospective employers. Following discussion within the Politics and Policy Studies Stream it was suggested that the internship would need to be supported by other subjects in the program if students were to be prepared for the complex tasks involved. The final proposal included a preliminary subject that focused on the skills required to understand, analyze and evaluate policy processes with special reference to issues of research methodology.

In developing the internship program there were three major processes to consider. First there were the pedagogical issues of how to achieve the best learning outcomes for students and then how to assess those outcomes. This had two parts; preparation and implementation. Secondly there were the administrative processes that ranged from student communication to insurance matters. Finally, there were the network issues of ensuring that students could do their internships in places relevant to their own interests. The way to ensure that the student experience was optimized was to make each of the processes relate to teaching and learning objectives.

In the first instance, the students need preparation for the internship and this is achieved through a preparatory subject called "Working with Government" that is done in the semester prior to the work placement. The "Working with Government" subject is designed to give students an understanding of the professional, industrial and social contexts in which the internship takes place. In this respect the unit poses questions about the political nature of all research and how students should be wary of the major pitfalls.

In the "Working with Government" subject students are asked to choose a government or non-government report that assesses, evaluates or delves into a specific aspect of public policy. In making their choice students are informed that they should opt for a report that is of special interest to them whether that be social policy, sport, drugs or whatever holds their interest. The subject then requires that the students critically assess the underlying values of different elements of their chosen report in terms of a range of issues including: structure, layout and presentation; discourse and ideological assumptions; methodological approaches; ethics; policy networks; and organizational location in the public policy arena. By constantly seeking to decipher the underlying values in each of the above areas the students are able to establish a number of criteria for evaluating the relative merit of their chosen report. It is the emphasis on learning about assessment of the report in a variety of different ways that helps them to understand the processes involved in making judgements about the report.

The formal assessment for the subject is progressive in that each piece of assessment leads them to a final critical essay on their chosen report. There are four minor pieces of work that contribute to the final essay: the process of finding and choosing a report; a literature review; a methodological evaluation; and a Cabinet submission. The assessment for finding and choosing a report helps the students to place their chosen report in its public policy context. The literature review helps the students understand where the report sits in terms of its theoretical approach. The methodological evaluation gives the students understandings of the political nature of the choice of methodological approaches as well as some insight into the drawbacks of different techniques used to access and develop data. The Cabinet submission gives students an insight into the manner in which information needs to be organized for submission to Cabinet in the political system. All of the above assessments also concentrate on giving the students specific skills such as literature searching, précis writing and recognizing distortions in language and data presentation. In the final essay students then use the skills developed in the minor assessments to develop an overall critique of their chosen report indicating what criteria they have selected in making their final assessment.

Once students have completed the "Working with Government" subject they are then ready to begin the processes associated with the applying for the Internship. There are a number of administrative tasks to begin with that are used as the basis for selection into the Internship. First there is the application form that can be used as a means to help students understand discernible outcomes. An application form has been developed where students are asked to produce a portfolio, give reasons for wanting to do the internship and outline the places they would most like to do the internship. Developing a portfolio is a skill that students need to learn early on in their career. In this case they have to tailor the portfolio to the specific area in which they hope to do their placement. Students are requested to seek assistance through the Student Services Division in the University where there are trained advisors employed to coach students in the development of portfolios.

They are also asked to reflect upon why they should do the internship which gives them a baseline from which to judge what they may learn from their placement. The students are asked to write their reflection in terms of what they may learn about the public policy process and it is the precision and clarity of their arguments upon which they are judged. Next students must do some research into the places they would like to do their internship. This gets them used to the idea of researching workplaces, an important skill in preparation for work interviews, and it serves as an important indicator for selecting suitable students into the internship. Finally, students are asked to read the appropriate documentation before they fill in an indemnity form that alerts students to their responsibilities in the workplace as interns. It also alerts them to the more general issues of workplace security and confidentiality and in the selection interview students are asked about these and other issues relating to their responsibilities in the workplace.

Overall, the assessment of the suitability of students for the internship is based upon their ability to research workplaces and then adapt their applications to meet three basic criteria. Firstly, they need to demonstrate that they have the skills that are needed for research in the workplace they select. Secondly, they need to show that they have a sufficient understanding of public policy processes that can be used in a reflective approach to their internship. Finally, they need to have a good working knowledge of their responsibilities as interns in the workplace.

An important part of contract research is establishing the research design of the project. For this reason once students have had their placement confirmed it is then up to them to begin the negotiations with their workplace supervisor about the tasks they will perform. In the negotiation process students need to develop:

• The aims and outcomes of the project

• The research methods to be used

• The duties of the student in the workplace

• The resources that the host organization will supply

The students are guided in the process by their academic supervisor who has to ensure that the students are capable of achieving the agreed outcomes. For the students the whole exercise gives them a good insight into the importance of good research design including scope of project, relevance of the proposed methods and the resources required to achieve the agreed outcomes.

It is at this stage that students need to reflect upon the assessment processes they used in evaluating their chosen report in the "Working with Government" unit. This enables them to develop a set of aims and outcomes by which their own work will be assessed at the end of their placement. In other words the contract that the students develop is the basis of their assessment and they need to be sure that the tasks they set themselves are achievable.

Once a contract has been agreed upon and signed by the students and their workplace supervisor the students are required to spend 100 hours spread over a thirteen week semester in their workplace. During that time, they produce a substantial piece of research of around 7,500 words. The type of research will vary according to the requirements of the task and type of workplace in which they are located. However, the students are expected to set a deadline for their final report as part of the research contract. They are also advised to plan their work to cover a range of contingencies including absence of work supervisors through sickness and the like.

The final research output goes to both the academic supervisor and to the workplace supervisor and this involves a balance of good academic writing and plain language skills. In this respect students are encouraged to support their research with adequate citation of their sources and a comprehensive bibliography. However they are also encouraged to show drafts of their work to their workplace supervisor to ensure that they are fulfilling the terms of their contract as the criteria for their assessment are based upon that research contract.

While students are involved in their research project they are also encouraged to think about their workplace experience so that they can write a reflective essay. The reflective essay is a chance for students to analyze their experiences in the light of knowledge derived from their previous study of public policy. While students are encouraged to keep a journal of their activities the reflective essay is not merely a story of their time in the placement. The journal is seen not just as written diary but also as a collection of supporting material such as workplace newsletters and public documentation about the workplace. In this respect students must focus on the broader policy framework of their placement. Such an approach ensures that they link their previous theoretical study of public policy to their specific case study. The assessment of the reflective essay is determined by how well the students are able to critically evaluate their particular placement in the light of the public policy literature.

Finally, students are encouraged to take advantage of the networking opportunities offered to them in their placement. For many of them it offers a unique opportunity not only to experience the workplace but also to discover and make contact with important people in the specific policy network. While this aspect of the unit is not formally assessed the students are constantly reminded of the importance of making as many connections as possible both within their workplace and in the broader policy network where possible. The networking is seen as an important element in that by the end of the internship students have not only achieved academic success, they have also achieved lifelong skills that have in some cases led to employment in the specific policy area. All students must attend at least two seminars during the placement where issues of progression in their tasks and discussions of networking opportunities are raised.

اخر الاخبار

اخبار العتبة العباسية المقدسة

وفد العتبة العباسية المقدسة يهنئ الأمين العام للعتبة الكاظمية المقدسة بمناسبة تعيينه

العتبة العباسية المقدسة تنظم دورة في الإسعافات الأولية لعدد من ملاكاتها

في مستشفى الكفيل.. فريق طبي ينجح بمعالجة مسن يعاني من انسداد القناة الصفراوية

المجمع العلمي يقيم جلسةً قرآنية لتعليم أحكام التلاوة في النجف الأشرف

المزيد

الآخبار الصحية

الأطعمة الحارة.. "سر صغير" يغير صحة قلبك وعقلك

وباء صامت.. الملايين حول العالم مصابون بالسكري دون أن يعلموا !

لماذا ينصح بتناول تفاحة يوميا؟

8 فواكه طبيعية تمنحك نوما هنيئا.. وتخلصك من الأرق

المزيد

الآخبار التكنلوجية

ثلاث علامات على وجود مشاكل خطيرة في محرك السيارة ؟

ماذا نعرف عن اللقاح الروسي ضد السرطان؟

مركبة فضاء تعثر على دليل عن وجود حياة قديمة على المريخ

لتدريب الذكاء الاصطناعي.. الصين تخطط لإنشاء شبكة حوسبة موحدة

المزيد

مواضيع ذات صلة

Reinforcing Effort

REINFORCING EFFORT AND PROVIDING RECOGNITION

HOMEWORK AND PRACTICE Summary

HOMEWORK AND PRACTICE Classroom Example

HOMEWORK AND PRACTICE Classroom Recommendations

HOMEWORK AND PRACTICE Generalizations from Classroom Instruction That Works

HOMEWORK AND PRACTICE Practice

HOMEWORK AND PRACTICE Classroom Example

Adapting Homework to the Stages of Language Acquisition

Classroom Recommendations

Generalizations from Classroom Instruction That Works

HOME WORK AND PRACTICE Homework