|
|
|
|
DECEMBER 16, 1999--When students
in Associate Professor of Politics Eve Sandberg's practicum
in policy evaluation and applied research traveled with her to Columbus,
Ohio, Thursday, December 9, they carried with them a semester's worth
of work bound up in black, three-ring binders.
The students have been nonpaid (but college-credit-earning)
consultants to the Ohio Legislative Black Caucus
(OLBC), a nonpartisan legislative organization of African-American state
representatives and state senators chaired by State
Senator C. J. Prentiss (21st District). They were in Columbus to present
their research findings on four topics they had researched, in teams, throughout
the semester:
- health-maintenance organizations (HMOs),
- nursing-home care and staff retention,
- minorities in the trades and building
sectors, and
- Headstart programs.
"It is rare for undergraduates to be able
to influence and facilitate legislative initiatives in policy areas in which
they have a research interest," says Sandberg. "Senator Prentiss's request
for research from our Oberlin students, and her organization of a presentation
forum for their research and legislative recommendations to the OLBC, was
a wonderful consultancy opportunity for them in both research and advocacy."
It was also, says Sandberg, a "shrewd use
of resources by Senator Prentiss, who knew something of me through the political
grapevine, and approached me at a state political meeting to ask if Oberlin
students might be interested in pursuing policy research."
According to Sandberg, Prentiss had several
items on her wish list. She wanted an evaluation of Ohio's various approaches
to policy problems, and how those approaches differ from models used by
other states or countries. She also had an interest in obtaining research
into how those affected by policies and those involved in implementing policies
(not restricted to senior administrators), viewed various new legislative
initiatives. And she wanted to confirm or disconfirm anecdotal information
she was receiving concerning various policies.
Sandberg says that strategies for conducting
policy research differ from those for conducting social-science academic
research in that the latter "tries to find generalizable principles about
social variables, while policy research focuses more on a single case in
time and space, and tries to problem solve."
The students took their roles as consultants
and problem solvers seriously. Besides supplying Sandberg with a final project
report, the students had to deliver a copy to the client in formal presentations
that took place last week.
"It was nerve wracking," says Matthew Pierce,
a sophomore politics major from Libertyville, Illinois. "When an entire
class is centered around presenting research findings, you tend to build
up the presentation in your mind. However, the legislators were very disarming;
they made jokes and they talked to us like equals."
Pierce and Cassie Seiple, a senior environmental
studies major from Pembroke, Virginia, researched the expansion of Ohio's
building-trades workforce in relation to increased funding to school-facilities
construction across the state. Seiple says that the experience was difficult,
but rewarding:
"The knowledge that all our research would
be used [by the caucus] when creating and voting on policy was clear all
semester. It was a challenging process and, for one course, my largest time
commitment since I've been at Oberlin. However, during the final presentation
the usefulness of our research was clear, and that was really rewarding."
At some point during the spring semester,
the OLBC will conduct "political councils," discussions that bring together
all stakeholders--those with an interest in the legislation's outcome--for
an evaluation of the costs and benefits of the legislation being considered
for proposal. When this happens, Sandberg's students will return to Columbus
to discuss their reports and recommendations. Ultimately, says Sandberg,
the OLBC plans to initiate some of the legislation recommended by the Oberlin
student researchers, a development that would please Pierce: "I hope that
legislators will use our information to make informed decisions about public
policy. Most of Ohio's school facilities need to be repaired or replaced."
Seiple says she hopes the information and
recommendations are considered in upcoming talks with Governor Bob Taft. |
