Using Policy Briefs as Assessment to Integrating Research-Led Employability in Foreign Policy Courses

Abstract

The aims of this paper are to highlight the way policy briefs were employed as an assessment tool on a final year foreign policy orientated Politics/IR module in a UK university. It explores the skill/employability rationale behind the use of the tool alongside wider concerns about diversity of assessment before moving onto some practical aspects of its introduction within the module and the evolution of the task. Finally, it reflects on student opinion of the assessment, it highlights some of the expected and unexpected challenges in using policy briefs as an assessment tool and proposes some future modifications. Overall, this paper argues that policy briefs can be utilised on more "traditional" modules and that they have a range of benefits for both students and staff, confirming the general findings of Chagas-Bastos and Burges (2018) and others, whilst making a more explicit case for their use in relation to the fact that the tool allows students to demonstrate research-based employability skills.

Introduction: Innovative Teaching on European (Foreign) Affairs

“…As guest editors we have selected papers according to their level of innovation for teaching EU (Foreign) Affairs and that at the same time cover a variety of teaching approaches as well as represent a diverse and multinational academic background of the authors. Our contributions talk about research-led teaching by linking policy briefs and employability (Lightfoot 2020), responsive teaching in times of radical change (O´Mahony 2020), synchronous teaching among 13 universities (Plank and Niemann 2020), and teaching EU foreign policy via Problem-based learning (Tonra 2020). We decided not to include a paper on EU simulations because there is now a relatively established body of literature on EU simulations and role-plays Settembri 2012, 2014;Muno et al 2013;Muno et al 2018;Niemann et al 2015;Usherwood 2014;Van Dyke et al 2000).…”

“…Connecting the foreign policy classroom with real-world and authentic tasks and raising students' awareness of how what they learn in the classroom matters for their next steps into the professional world was also the main objective of the second contribution. Lightfoot (2020) experiments with a different kind of assessment in the form of policy briefs about politics of foreign aid in his final year class of approximately 85 students, also in order to make students think explicitly in terms of skills and competences that they acquired during their learning for future employment. In contrast to Tonra, Lightfoot (2020) does not overhaul the whole of the course objectives and structure, but his innovation is focused on the final assessment.…”

“…Tonra (2020) showcases how an active learning approach in the form of Problem-based learning can become problematic if students do not seek such ownership or find it unreasonably demanding. Student ownership can be facilitated by explicit and clear communication of expectations, by discussing best practices with students, and by scaffolding the complexity of a task and by providing ample feedback opportunities (Lightfoot 2020). It is, however, not only students who might need to re-adjust their role expectations.…”

“…for where one comes from in terms of previous experience and knowledge but also for why one finds certain aspects more relevant than others is an essential starting point for acknowledging the self-responsibility in the learning process. Tonra (2020) reported his surprise "to see the amount of passion, depth and engagement of students with the topic" once he provided the space for students to discover the issue at hand in their own manner, and also Lightfoot (2020) demonstrates the added value of giving students the space (in this case during assessment) to apply their gained knowledge in a creative manner. In order to facilitate 10 students' self-responsibility, Plank and Niemann (2020) suggest considering different learning types and thus let students choose from a variety of tasks that they can contribute to.…”

“…Fostering students´ employability and skills awareness is a good way to meet employability concerns but even more importantly helps students to consider more explicitly the added value of academic thinking skills. Lightfoot (2020) illustrated the importance of making students explicitly think about the similiarities and differences of academic writing to other forms of writing, but his students also recognized the difference between descriptive summaries versus tight analysis in reckoning with the different kind of assessment that they were confronted with. O´Mahoney (2020) in her responsive and more flexible teaching also allowed students to recognize that academic thinking is not just about repeating the right answers, but about discovering, questioning, and analysing issues they encounter in the classroom but even more importantly in their daily social and political lives.…”