The Scholarship of Engagement for Politics

1

• The Scholarship of Engagement for Politics
• Steven Curtis Caroline Marsh
• Coventry University University of
  Warwick

2
Placement Learning in Politics

• Survey of Politics Departments
• Rarely used (23 out of 94)
• Largely extracurricular
• Embedding Placement Learning
• in the Politics Curriculum
• During academic year and local
• Linked to and assessed by modules
• Structured by learning outcomes

• Who'd have thought something that you learn in
  a classroom would actually be relevant in real
  life!

3
Pedagogy of Placement Learning

• Research-Based Learning
• Researching politics in action
• Research project for placement provider
• Placement learning rather than work experience

• I am beginning to see issues work their way
  through the policy process I think a really good
  way to get an idea of the workings of the
  organisation would be to follow an issue around
  the committees like this I am beginning to get
  an idea of how they all relate to each other.

4
The Project

• Three rounds of placements
• Developing templates
• Partnership agreements
• Health and safety issues
• www.politicsinaction.ac.uk

• Who would have thought a full time job would be
  so time consuming?!

5
Assessment

• Essays
• Blogs
• Interviews
• Questionnaires

• It was good to be given some independence and
  work to do, enabling me to feel as if I was
  contributing to the work here in a positive way
  rather than simply shadowing and observing the
  goings-on of the organization.

6
Round One Placement Providers

• Andrew Smith MP
• Birmingham Race Action Partnership
• Coventry City Council
• Geoffrey Robinson MP
• Government Office of the West Midlands
• Liz Lynne MEP
• Malcolm Harbour MEP
• Oxfam
• Oxfordshire County Council Homeless College
  Network
• Oxfordshire County Council Gatehouse café for
  the homeless
• Oxford User Team

• the staff have been great, and I havent
  stopped learning about the processes and
  responsibilities of government organisations

7
David Bugg with Andrew Smith MP

• Ive been invited back down on Wednesday
  for the budget. This is one of the biggest days
  of the year at Westminster so it should be a
  great experience.

• (Apologies this picture had to be deleted to
  protect privacy of the student)

8
Anna Jackson with Liz Lynne MEP

• (Apologies this picture had to be deleted to
  protect privacy of the student)

• I wouldnt swap this first hand experience for
  anything.

9
Tentative Conclusions and Emerging Issues

• High student motivation and commitment
• Definitions of politics
• The impact of assessment regimes
• A high maintenance approach
• The universities role
• The revenge of work experience!

• I arrived home safe and sound after what was a
  fantastic experience.