Pedagogical Red Tape: Difficulties in Teaching the Bureaucracy to Undergraduate Students

Abstract

Americans are often perceived as holding extremely negative views of governmental bureaucrats. Phrases like bureaucratic waste and unresponsive bureaucracy fill the mainstream media and taint the image of bureaucrats. Beginning in basic high school civics classes, students are taught to respect the lawmaking process, the executive power of the President, and the interpretive influence of judges, yet very few are instructed to remember the mail carrier who delivers their mail consistently or the social service worker who handles a constant stream of phone calls—perhaps even on their behalf. Given the lack of background most students have on the bureaucracy, political science classes at the collegiate level are imperative in helping to overcome the popularly held negative myths of these important institutions. This article examines how academics attempt to tackle the complex issues surrounding the American bureaucracy with their American government students.