Description
The purpose of these briefs are three-fold: 1) to help you develop your academic writing; 2) to create the habit of identifying and using resources to inform and support academic arguments; and 3) to allow you to demonstrate your ability to apply concepts from the course to YOUR understanding of policy.Kraft & Furlong (2021) describe policy analysis as “an attempt to dissect probes and solutions” (p. 26) in a systematic way. For each brief, you need to discuss the following:Origin of policy (federal, state, or local government). You should not select an institutional or organizational policy.Scope of policy (what issue is the policy designed to address? In what context does the policy emerge and why? What about the timing of the policy is important?)Kraft &Furlong (2021) suggest four criteria that should be considered when discussing the benefits of policy: effectiveness, efficiency, equity, andpolitical feasibility ( 28-29). In your analysis of the policy, identify which criteria are typically used to frame the policy discussion on the issue. Provide examples to support your decision.Impact on professional practice: Discuss the impact of the policy on your professional practice. Provide at least 2-3 examples of how the policy will specifically shape how you conduct yourself professionally. Each brief requires you to identify 6-7 current resources (2020-2024) on the assigned topic (See list below) and utilize these resources to develop your policy analysis brief. This assignment is assessed using a rubric that is available in CANVAS. Make sure that you select different topics across the three briefs.Examples of current resources: federal, state, and/or local government policies; peer-reviewed journal articles and/or articles in a periodical (newspaper, on a news blog like CNN, BBC, Al Jazerra, NPR, etc.), YouTube video, documentary, news report (on the news or a video accessed online), current legal decision, informational social media posts, etc. All of these sources should be included in the bibliographyYou will conduct a Qualitative Content Analysis (Shreier, 2014 – article available in Canvas) of the selected topic. To conduct the QCA, you will utilize MaxQDA (class license will be distributed in class) to upload and pose questions that can be answered by conducting an analysis of the selected documents.Options for Topics (Pick ONE topic for each assignment):Brief 1: The context of public policy (pick one: social, economic, political, governing or cultural) that seems most prominent in discussions about at least two specific policy issues; the role and capacity of federal, state or local government to achieve policy goals on one of the following topics: education, social security, homelessness, poverty or housing; or, the process of public policymaking at the federal, state, or local level (example: the process involved in creating and implementing a particular policy).Brief 2: Analysis of a current policy discussion. Identification of the public problem and at least two policy options under consideration.Brief 3: The focus of this brief should be on economic policy or health care policy. The policies should originate at the federal, state, or local level.Additional Option: Select one of the following topics: education (higher education or K-12), energy, and the environment, or relationships and interactions with international governments. Can be replaced with any of the options above.