Module POL3089 for 2018/9
- Overview
- Aims and Learning Outcomes
- Module Content
- Indicative Reading List
- Assessment
Undergraduate Module Descriptor
POL3089: Policy in Action
This module descriptor refers to the 2018/9 academic year.
Module Aims
This module aims to ensure:
- You are familiar with the basic approaches and perspectives of analysing the implementation of public policies.
- You understand the different stages, outcomes and particularities of implementation processes.
- You have basic knowledge of the existing evidence regarding different factors affecting the successful implementation of public policies.
- You have acquired the analytical skills to evaluate the implementation of public policies on your own, and to reflect critically on other implementation studies
| On successfully completing the programme you will be able to: | |
|---|---|
| Module-Specific Skills | 1. Explain the role and perspectives of different actors involved in policy implementation; 2. Demonstrate detailed knowledge of the complexities of implementing public policies at different governance levels; 3. Evaluate critically settings to implement public policies; 4. Identify examples of policy implementation good or bad practice in the literature and produce a critical evaluation of the lessons that can be drawn; 5. Describe the main difficulties in reaching a successful policy implementation; |
| Discipline-Specific Skills | 6. Think critically, analyse debates and present coherent arguments on politics; 7. Evaluate the effectiveness of policy; 8. Understand in-depth the reasons for and barriers to policy intervention; 9. Critically apply theories of political science and international relations to real-life political situations; |
| Personal and Key Skills | 10. Effectively communicate complex topics in a coherent and well structured manner; 11. Interact with fellow students in a cooperative manner 12. Reflect critically on learning outcomes; 13. Work independently, within a limited time frame, and without access to external sources, to complete a specified task. |
Module Content
Syllabus Plan
Whilst the module’s precise content may vary from year to year, it is envisaged that the syllabus will cover some or all of the following topics:
- Implementation theory: Top-down or bottom-up?
- Going hybrid: Third generation implementation perspectives
- Who complies with the European Union?
- It’s domestic politics, stupid!
- European Union policies “in action”
- Federalism, decentralization, and distributive justice
- Frontline policy implementation
- Discriminating bureaucrats? Street-level bureaucracy and social equity
- “You can’t make me do it”: Accountability and enforcement
- Hybridization and for-profit policy implementation
Learning and Teaching
This table provides an overview of how your hours of study for this module are allocated:
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | Guided independent study | Placement / study abroad |
|---|---|---|
| 44 | 256 |
...and this table provides a more detailed breakdown of the hours allocated to various study activities:
| Category | Hours of study time | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | 44 | 22 x two hour seminars |
| Guided Independent Study | 60 | Guided reading |
| Guided Independent Study | 53 | Preparation of presentations |
| Guided independent study | 143 | Essay preparation - conducting research, analysing data, writing the finished product |
Online Resources
This module has online resources available via ELE (the Exeter Learning Environment).
Street-level bureaucracy, explained in brief by Michael Lipsky:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZX1IivgPspA
Other Learning Resources
http://vle.exeter.ac.uk/mod/resource/view.php?id=168656/
You can find lots of advice relating to essay writing at:
http://www.services.ex.ac.uk/cas/employability/askills/essay/index.htm
You can also find other useful advice related to general study skills at: http://www.services.ex.ac.uk/edu/student-learning-skills/resources.shtml
How this Module is Assessed
In the tables below, you will see reference to 'ILO's. An ILO is an Intended Learning Outcome - see Aims and Learning Outcomes for details of the ILOs for this module.
Formative Assessment
A formative assessment is designed to give you feedback on your understanding of the module content but it will not count towards your mark for the module.
| Form of assessment | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|
| Short individual presentation | 3 minutes, 1-2 ppt slides | 10-13 | Oral |
| First idea for research question | 1 E-Mail (at least 5 sentences) | 13 | In Writing |
Summative Assessment
A summative assessment counts towards your mark for the module. The table below tells you what percentage of your mark will come from which type of assessment.
| Coursework | Written exams | Practical exams |
|---|---|---|
| 80 | 0 | 20 |
...and this table provides further details on the summative assessments for this module.
| Form of assessment | % of credit | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Presentation | 20 | 30 minutes (Individual presentations) | 10-13 | Written and Verbal |
| Essay 1 | 30 | 2,000 words | 1-9 | Written |
| Essay 2 | 50 | 4,500 words | 1-9 | Written |
| 0 | ||||
| 0 | ||||
| 0 |
Re-assessment
Re-assessment takes place when the summative assessment has not been completed by the original deadline, and the student has been allowed to refer or defer it to a later date (this only happens following certain criteria and is always subject to exam board approval). For obvious reasons, re-assessments cannot be the same as the original assessment and so these alternatives are set. In cases where the form of assessment is the same, the content will nevertheless be different.
| Original form of assessment | Form of re-assessment | ILOs re-assessed | Timescale for re-assessment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Presentation | Written critical appraisal of study chosen by instructor. (1,500 words) | 10-13 | August/September reassessment period |
| Essay 1 | 2,000 words | 1-9 | August/September reassessment period |
| Essay 2 | 4,500 words | 1-9 | August/September reassessment period |
Indicative Reading List
This reading list is indicative - i.e. it provides an idea of texts that may be useful to you on this module, but it is not considered to be a confirmed or compulsory reading list for this module.
Epp, C.R., Maynard?Moody, S. and D. Haider?Markel. 2017. Beyond Profiling: The Institutional Sources of Racial Disparities in Policing. Public Administration Review 77(2): 168-178.
Falkner, G., Hartlapp, M. and O. Treib. 2005. Complying with Europe: EU harmonisation and soft law in the member states. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Hill, M. and P. Hupe. 2014. Implementing Public Policy. London: Sage publications.
Lipsky, M. 1980/2010. Street-Level Bureaucracy: The Dilemmas of the Individual in Public Services . New York: Russell Sage Foundation.
Treib, O. 2014. Implementing and complying with EU governance outputs. Living Reviews in European Governance 9(1), DOI: 10.12942/lreg-2014-1.
