Public Policy and Politics. Report Example.

Matters relating to Politics and public policy play a fundamental role in shaping the nature of our society and nation at large. Public policy can be formally defined as a system of course action that influences public decisions (What youll learn). Politics, on the other hand, studies different governing systems and policies that dictate how nations are ruled. Studying public policy should equip a student with the knowledge of the role of policy makers in determining how laws are made and enforced (Hill & Varone, 2016). Similarly, a student through the study of politics should learn about how political powers and activities such as elections and political institutions influence the state of a country.

One fundamental thing to note when studying public policy and politics is the broad nature of the two disciplines. First, it is important to understand that it is not only parties and elections that constitute the realm of politics (Dunn, 2015). Moreover, students should comprehend that the policy theory is merely a fixation on election procedures (Johnson, Reynolds & Mycoff, 2015). In other words, learners get to understand that elections do not matter in policy studies since policy making processes are be given priority despite the significant role played they in the world of politics.

Secondly, a student studying policy making and politics should learn that identification of policy success should not be done objectively. Seemingly, the political aspect of policy evaluation is quite evident since most political parties and commentators often participate in debates about the government and its various choices (Johnson & Reynold, 2016). However, students should learn that such controversies cannot be solved through scientific or technical measures of success since measurements often involve perspective and the use of imperfect agents who may not relay factual information.

Studying public policy and politics can equip learners with an understanding of how different government systems work and also learn how to identify policy success without employing objective measures. In addition, students should be taught how policies are made and enforced by different agents in the field.

References

Cairney, P (2015). Politics and public policy. WordPress. Retrieved from https://www.google.com/search?q=Explain+what+a+student+should+learn+by+studying+public+policy+and+politics.+Use+scholarly+references&oq=Explain+what+a+student+should+learn+by+studying+public+policy+and+politics.+Use+scholarly+references&aqs=chrome..69i57.727j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

Dunn, W. N. (2015). Public policy analysis. Routledge.

Hill, M., & Varone, F. (2016). The public policy process. Taylor & Francis.

Johnson, J. B., Reynolds, H. T., & Mycoff, J. D. (2015). Political science research methods

What youll learn- political science. The Public Honors College. St Marys College of Maryland. Retrieved from http://www.smcm.edu/posc/academic-offerings/what-you-learn-political-science/