Political Science Educator: volume 28, issue 1
Reflections
By Amber Overholser (aroverholser@saumag.edu) and Sante Mastriana (smastriana@closeup.org)
Students often enter Master of Public Administration (MPA) programs with a desire to work and make positive change within the government sector, non-profit organizations, educational institutions, consulting firms, and other public service oriented professions. A basic review of most MPA programs will show that many, if not most, MPA programs do not have a course dedicated specifically to the American political system, requiring students to either come directly into the program with a strong understanding of U.S. political systems, government, and politics or to bring their knowledge levels up quickly through in-course exercises and self-directed learning. To accommodate a gap in learning we saw for many of our students, we partnered with Close Up Foundation to create an introductory set of modules that pairs the basics of our American political science system with opportunities to apply that knowledge to current affairs analysis. This partnership provides an opportunity for students to quickly become (re)oriented to political science concepts to start their Master of Public Administration program strong. To share how and why this bootcamp came to fruition we discuss our experience creating the Close Up/Southern Arkansas University Political Science Bootcamp for graduate students.
The MPA program at SAU accepts students to its online MPA degree on a rolling basis and offers an introductory (required) “Principles of Public Administration” course in both the Fall and Spring semesters. The student profile is diverse, with students ranging from those just finishing their undergraduate degree, to those working within the field, all the way to those students 60+ years old taking courses to fulfill a long-term goal. We accept and encourage student applicants from a wide variety of backgrounds, as public administration skills and concepts can be utilized across various sectors. Student undergraduate degrees include, but aren’t limited to, criminal justice, public health, and social work. Political science students do enter the program, but they are not the bulk of our student population. The diversity of backgrounds and personal goals are strengths given that we serve regional students, many of whom live and serve in rural communities and may be called upon not only to excel in their workplace but also to assume public leadership roles.
A specific challenge when serving our students has been the need to ensure student familiarity with the American political system. Regularly when I visit various undergraduate courses on campus to speak about public service, I ask students when they last took a political science course. The responses are somewhat grim, with most students not having taken a political science course since they were in high school. Arkansas requires students to take one half year course in civics at the high school level (State Policy – CivXNow n.d.) and it is not required at the undergraduate level within our institution. Instead, it is offered as one of the options to meet a student’s social science requirements (Degrees and Programs | Academics | Southern Arkansas University n.d.). While we assumed in the past that students would pick up or remember various concepts as we move through the program, this didn’t necessarily ensure strong participation from the very beginning. Essentially, students didn’t know what they didn’t know, so proactively approaching the knowledge gap is necessary.
Knowing that there may be a need for a review given that the majority of our students are not political science majors where we could pull from their undergraduate coursework, it seemed only logical to create a common set of modules related to the fundamentals of our political system, incorporating theory and practical application throughout. So, with the help of an internal grant, we contacted The Close Up Foundation, a nonprofit, nonpartisan civic education organization in Washington, D.C. for assistance in creating a “political science bootcamp” (hereafter bootcamp) for our students.
The Close Up Foundation has a stellar reputation throughout the nation and providing this kind of bootcamp is in keeping with Close Up’s broader organizational goals of increasing civic knowledge and preparing future voters for their role in our democracy. Close Up offers professional development training and resources for classroom educators and has worked in partnership with other civic education organizations and universities to promote civil discourse and active citizenship. Close Up is willing to partner with other institutions that may be interested.
Instead of requiring us to create an interactive program from scratch, Close Up staff adapted instructional materials from their Program for New Americans, a program aimed specifically at English Language Learners, migrant students, and first-generation immigrants to the United States. That program focuses on fundamental civic knowledge such as government structure and civil rights, with the goal of helping student build language skills and the content knowledge needed for U.S. citizenship exams.
The bootcamp consists of six separate modules: federalism, the bill of rights, the legislative, executive, and judicial branches, and democratic citizenship and citizen engagement. Pre and post-tests are required for students; we provide points for good-faith efforts for the tests as this encourages them to just take the tests and not focus on their scores. In each module students are required to finish two sections, each filled with keystone documents, videos, and links to appropriate news and journal articles. The first section provides a strong overview of the historical underpinnings and current thought on the given topic while the second section specifically requires students to apply their knowledge. For example, the second federalism section is a perfect opportunity to discuss marijuana policy as it relates to the relationships between the states and the federal government. While many are aware of some issues surrounding legalization, few use the language of federalism and understand the conflict as far as its connections to public administration (e.g., taxation, interstate commerce, equity of ownership, etc.).
The entire bootcamp lasts about 2 weeks and quickly (re)acquaints students to political science concepts so that we can build upon this foundational knowledge and move directly into focusing on public administration. Pre- and post-test scores vary between small improvements (most often from political science or public administration undergraduate majors) and larger improvements, in the 30% range in increase in knowledge, for others. While those scores are obviously important, the bigger picture is that we have seen a dramatic increase in the strength of students throughout the entirety of the program as a result of the bootcamp. Students are better able to articulate the role of public administrators within the political system and examine various case studies with a stronger understanding of the role of the three branches and the intersection between various levels of government (and nonprofits). We can examine the role of the street-level bureaucrat and their connection to federal policies in more meaningful ways.
Conclusion
Ideally, everyone would have a baseline understanding of the American political system, though various studies reveal that is not the case (Clinton School of Public Service 2024; American Bar Association 2023; Maroni 2023). As we seek to welcome students into our program and ultimately strengthen our public administrators, we believe we are choosing a realistic means to address the decades long lack of civics education within secondary and higher education (Smith 2023). Our collaboration with Close Up Foundation provided us with a meaningful way to welcome students and allow all students to begin their MPA journey on solid footing.
References
American Bar Association. 2023. “Fifth Annual American Bar Association Survey of Civic Literacy.” https://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/administrative/news/2023/2023-civic-literacy-survey.pdf.
Clinton School of Public Service. 2024. “Arkansas Civic Health Index – Clinton School of Public Service”. https://clintonschool.uasys.edu/centers-initiatives/open-governance-lab/arkansas-civic-health-index/.
“Degrees and Programs | Academics | Southern Arkansas University.” Southern Arkansas University, May 21, 2024. https://web.saumag.edu/academics/degrees/.
Maroni, E. 2023. “Americans’ civics knowledge drops on First Amendment and branches of government.” https://www.annenbergpublicpolicycenter.org/americans-civics-knowledge-drops-on-first-amendment-and-branches-of-government/
Smith, Carl. 2023. “Civic Education Is Having a Moment. This Is What That Means.” Governing.com, May 20, 2024. https://www.governing.com/now/civic-education-is-having-a-moment-this-is-what-that-means.
“State Policy – CivXNow.” CivXNow, May 20, 2024. https://civxnow.org/our-work/state-policy/.
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Amber Overholser is an Associate Professor and the MPA Program Director at Southern Arkansas University
Sante Mastriana is the Director of Professional Development at the Close Up Foundation
Published since 2005, The Political Science Educator is the newsletter of the Political Science Education Section of the American Political Science Association. All issues of The Political Science Educator can be viewed here.
Editors: Colin Brown (Northeastern University), Matt Evans (Northwest Arkansas Community College)
Submissions: editor.PSE.newsletter@gmail.com
As part of APSA’s mission to support political science education across the discipline, APSA Educate has republished The Political Science Educator since 2021. Please visit APSA Educate’s Political Science Educator digital collection here.
