Riverside Community College District
Integrated Course Outline of Record
Political Science 14
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COURSE DESCRIPTION
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14 Internship in Political Science
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Units: 3.00
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Prerequisite(s): None.
Advisory: Qualification for English 1A.
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This course will examine the process of decision making in the public arena of local, state and national politics. Policy development, public administration and the bureaucratic implementation of policy will be analyzed. The student will be assigned to work 90 hours in a political or public administrative state or local office as the internship component of this course. 27 hours lecture and 90 hours volunteer internship required.
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SHORT DESCRIPTION FOR CLASS SCHEDULE
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Lecture and internship in state or local political office to study the process of decision making and policy development.
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ADVISORY ENTRY SKILLS
Before entering the course, students will be able to:
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critically discuss and analyze primary and secondary texts, recognizing key ideas and responding in both oral and written form;
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analyze, synthesize, and evaluate concepts studied in primary and secondary texts using intermediate to advanced critical thinking skills;
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compose and develop unified, stylistically competent writing assignments and adjust writing to the target audience with intermediate to advanced skill.
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STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES
Upon successful completion of the course, students should be able to:
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1. Describe the process of decision making and policy development in local
and state politics.
2. Analyze policy issues and the effectiveness of bureaucratic implementation
of the policies by local and state offices.
3. Describe the workings of those state or local offices and their role in the
development and implementation of policy.
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COURSE CONTENT
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TOPICS
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Focus of class readings may be chronological, topical-thematic, disciplinary, and/or based on case studies. The class should cover the following six indicated topic areas.
1. Urban Politics and Administration: the decision making process.
a. The role of the actors in the decision making process including elected
and appointed officials.
b. Analysis of the intergovernmental context of decision making.
c. Analysis of administration for internship experience.
2. Issues facing local government today.
a. Service delivery and the escalation of demands upon government.
b. Effects and politics of growth.
c. Social problems in the local arena.
d. Economic development.
3. Financing Local Government: fitting the quilt of federal, state, and local
regulations and funding.
a. Analysis of finance mechanisms for internship experience.
4. Citizen Participation: the citizen’s role in local public affairs.
a. Open government policies.
b. Neighborhood empowerment.
c. Why citizen participation programs?
5. Accountability for local government.
a. To the citizens who elect them.
b. To the governmental structure that surrounds them.
6. Internship
a. Work experience
b. Assessment
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METHODS OF INSTRUCTION
Methods of instruction used to achieve student learning outcomes may include, but are not limited to:
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- Presentation of lectures and discussions on decision making in urban politics, financing federal, state, and local government, various forms of citizen participation in politics, the critical issues facing public administration today including critical methods and individual case studies in order for students to understand decision making, financing, and implementation of public policy.
- Show videos/films/audio tapes/internet resources in order to reinforce understanding of concepts related to the design and implementation of public policy.
- Create and have students participate in pair and small group activities, cooperative/collaborative learning tasks and simulations in order to assist students in activating the resources of creativity within themselves.
- Develop and assign class exercises such as reports, papers, and handouts in order to develop and reinforce course content.
- Invite guest lecturers to class in order to discuss topics related to the relationship of government officials and citizens in public policy.
- Participation as an intern in a public agency or office in order to provide work experience in public administration.
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METHODS OF EVALUATION
Students will be evaluated for progress in and/or mastery of learning outcomes by methods of evaluation which may include, but are not limited to:
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- Oral reports and presentations designed to demonstrate successful understanding and application of basic concepts and definitions of decision making, financing, and implementation of public policy.
- Written reports and presentations designed to demonstrate successful understanding and application of basic concepts and definitions of decision making, financing, and implementation of public policy.
- Quizzes/examinations designed to assess students’ ability to recall, critically analyze and apply key concepts and course content.
- Written assignments to describe field work.
- Individual projects such as written analysis of readings for specific field work area (see attached reading list).
- Participation and regular attendance as required by instructor to ensure progress in mastering the course content and participation in collaborative learning projects.
- Final examination designed to assess students’ mastery of the essential concepts explored in the course.
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ASSIGNMENTS
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Required Reading Assignments
Required Writing Assignments
Other Outside-of-Class Assignments
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COURSE MATERIALS
All materials used in this course will be periodically reviewed to ensure that they are appropriate for college level instruction. Possible texts include:
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Judd, Dennis and Swanstrom, Todd. City Politics: The Political Economy of Urban America. 5 ed.
New York: Longman Publishing, 2005.
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Harrigan, John. Political Change in the Metropolis. 7 ed.
New York: Longman Publishing, 2003.
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Judd, Dennis and Kantor, Paul. American Urban Politics: The Reader. 4 ed.
New York: Longman Publishing, 2005.
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| 09/05 |
| 1700 |