Education Policy and Analysis 101

EPA PCE Subject & Catalog Number

Description

This course is an introduction to public policy, with an applied focus on education policy and policy analysis. The course is organized around core tasks in the work of policymaking: defining the problem, proposing alternative options to address the problem, selecting criteria to evaluate the alternatives, projecting the outcomes of proposed alternatives, confronting the tradeoffs between alternatives, and others. These tasks often involve concepts from economics and political science, which the course will introduce, e.g., opportunity costs, thinking at the margin, stakeholder analysis. Throughout the course we will use cases and examples of education policy drawn from a variety of settings, including the United States, other high-income countries, and low- and middle-income countries. We will examine education policy issues in early childhood, primary and secondary education.

The course aims to achieve two main objectives: to enhance your ability to analyze policy problems with rigorous evidence and sound reasoning, and to improve your skills in effectively communicating that analysis to policymakers. A third objective of the course is to extend your understanding of key topics and debates in education policy in the U.S. and globally.

The course is designed to help students develop the core competencies of the EPA program:

• Integrate values and goals. Integrate the values and goals of your organization or community throughout the policy process, with special attention to equity as a central value in education.
• Understand the issue and context. Define the educational problem or opportunity with an understanding of the relevant historical, social, economic, and political context, including the differing interests and incentives of stakeholders.
• Evaluate evidence and tradeoffs. Define policy options and the criteria for evaluating them. Evaluate the quality of the available evidence and use it to compare alternatives, considering fiscal, political, social, individual, and collective consequences and tradeoffs.
• Communicate and collaborate. Communicate, collaborate, advocate, and negotiate with allies, opponents, and other stakeholders. Convey evidence and reasoning clearly and appropriately for the audience.
• Engage in the policy process. Make recommendations and implement policy under conditions of uncertainty, revising decisions as new evidence and understandings come to light. Build and share new evidence on policy implementation and impact.