With the world rapidly changing and populations around the globe faced with crisis as well as ongoing inequalities, the study of public policy and the ability to do it well, matters. This course introduces students to the fundamentals of contemporary public policy making. Students will explore core debates in policy studies and consider concepts, models and tools for understanding, designing, implementing and evaluating public policy for a rapidly changing world. To provide a deeper understanding of the policy process, students will be introduced to analytical perspectives on the policy process with the aim of provoking critical inquiry into policy practices and outcomes. Students will consider a variety of policy actors, power relations, and inequalities in the policy process, and reflect on how competing values and interests influence what issues get policy attention, how they shape decisions, outcomes and evaluation procedures.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:
- Demonstrate a working knowledge of key terms, concepts and ideas in the study of public policy;
- Analyse and critically evaluate how public policy issues come onto the agenda, how they are framed, defined and managed;
- Understand and critically engage in core debates in the field of policy studies including on policy decision-making, implementation, evaluation, governance, power and inequalities in policy, policy transfer and the globalisation of public policy;
- Display the ability to think independently, reflectively and persuasively on the politics and practices of implementing and evaluating public policy.
- Critically examine how policy is not neutral, and how relations of power impact the process, outcomes and experience of policy making.
Indicative Assessment
- Class Quiz (10) [LO 1]
- Framing Analysis (1500 words) (35) [LO 2,3,4]
- Policy Transfer Essay (2500 words) (45) [LO 1,2,3,4,5]
- Participation (10) [LO 1,2,3,4]
The ANU uses Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. While the use of Turnitin is not mandatory, the ANU highly recommends Turnitin is used by both teaching staff and students. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the ANU Online website.
Workload
A standard workload for a 6 unit course is 130 hours including in class time and independent study.
Prescribed Texts
None
Preliminary Reading
Will be provided on the Wattle course site.
Fees
Tuition fees are for the academic year indicated at the top of the page.
Commonwealth Support (CSP) Students
If you have been offered a Commonwealth supported place, your fees are set by the Australian Government for each course. At ANU 1 EFTSL is 48 units (normally 8 x 6-unit courses). More information about your student contribution amount for each course at Fees.
- Student Contribution Band:
- 14
- Unit value:
- 6 units
If you are a domestic graduate coursework student with a Domestic Tuition Fee (DTF) place or international student you will be required to pay course tuition fees (see below). Course tuition fees are indexed annually. Further information for domestic and international students about tuition and other fees can be found at Fees.
Where there is a unit range displayed for this course, not all unit options below may be available.
| Units | EFTSL |
|---|---|
| 6.00 | 0.12500 |
Offerings, Dates and Class Summary Links
ANU utilises MyTimetable to enable students to view the timetable for their enrolled courses, browse, then self-allocate to small teaching activities / tutorials so they can better plan their time. Find out more on the Timetable webpage.