Teaching the politics of policy analysis, aided by a blog

Abstract

When we teach policy analysis, we should focus not only on how to be a policy analyst but also how to situate the act of analysis within a wider political and policymaking context. There is the potential to achieve this aim: policy analysis texts focus on the individual and professional skills required to act efficiently and effectively in a time-pressured political environment, policy process research helps to situate this activity in a policymaking environment out of their control, and critical policy analysis prompts students to identify the inequalities of power that underpin policy practice and outcomes. However, students embody the concept of “bounded rationality” that is central to such studies: there is an overwhelming amount of information that they could encounter, and they have limited resources to learn. In that context, how can we help students to navigate the study of public policy well enough to make “good enough” choices about what and how to learn? I discuss the role of blog posts (and textbook materials) to foster that learning, and a mixture of coursework to help students reflect on the practical implications of what they learn.