Field Placement and Professional Experience
Field Placement and Professional Experience
The EPP Field Placement and Professional Experience program consists of two phases. Phase 1 sees students taking EDTHP 394 which focuses on the development of a personal understanding of educational policy in a wide range of governmental, private, and civic organizations engaged in educational policy broadly defined. Students are provided opportunities to discover their policy interests, develop their professional communication and research skills, and design an on-site research project to be implemented during a summer field experience. The culminating project, the Field Placement Plan, synthesizes readings and research in areas such as diversity, multiculturalism, social justice, and educational equity in rural, suburban, and urban settings. The plan then becomes the blueprint for the students’ summer field experience in EDTHP 395.
Topics in EDTHP 394, Phase 1 of the Field Placement and Professional Experience, include:
EDUCATION POLICY IN ORGANIZATIONS
The Role of Educational Policy in Non-profit and For-Profit Organizations
Special Interest Groups, Lobbying, and Political Agendas
Educational Policy in Government
The Players in Educational Policy: Policy Analysts and Policy Briefs, Policy Makers and Legislators, Educational Researchers
THE PROFESSIONAL SKILL SET FOR WORKING IN EDUCATIONAL POLICY
Communication Skills: Presenting Yourself and Your Issues through Media
Research Skills: Issue Identification and Case-Building
On-Site Skills: Navigating Organizational Culture
THE SUMMER FIELD EXPERIENCE
Exploring the Options and Discovering Your Area(s) of Interest
Establishing Contact and Maintaining Communication
The Field Experience Proposal: Designing and Implementing an On-site Research Project
In Phase 2, the course EDTHP 395 structures a summer semester field placement for EPP majors in a non-profit, governmental, or civic organization with an educational policy component. Students gain hands-on, real-world experience implementing their Field Placement Plan (created in EDTHP 394) while serving internships in regional and national settings. Student-directed Field Placement Plans include identification of a policy issue relevant to the placement, implementation, evaluation, and policy analysis. Students implement their Field Placement Plan while continuing course work through reading, journaling, cohort communication, assignment submission, instructor assessment through the ANGEL/Course Management System website, and duties and responsibilities assigned by their field placement organization.
Through the Field Placement and Professional Experience program, students practice planning, organizing, and recordkeeping skills along with professional workplace skills such as personal presentation, collaborative project implementation, writing field notes and memos, research and synthesis, and personal responsibility to an on-site supervisor.
