Activating Policy and Advocacy Skills: A Strategy for Tomorrow’s Special Education Leaders

Abstract

Special education scholars have traditionally experienced a significant disconnect between their experience as researchers and the fast-paced realities of policy and politics. We propose that higher education leaders should be drivers of change, not recipients of outcomes, and by extension, that there is a need to ensure that the preparation of future special education faculty and leaders includes multiple opportunities for them to engage in development of competencies related to policy-making, implementation, and evaluation. This article uses an exploratory qualitative approach to describe an experiential learning model referred to as the “Short Course,” established to provide opportunities for doctoral students to experience the policy process and to develop an advocacy disposition and skills for future roles in the broad field of special education. Questionnaire data gathered over 4 years suggest the potential for this model to increase advocacy and policy engagement among future special education researchers, faculty, and leaders.

Advocacy engagement

“…Another study also referenced 'knowledge transfer', noting that being an effective advocate means sharing information or telling a compelling story to stakeholders (Abram, 2017). Similarly, Nagro et al (2018) point out that 'dissemination of information is critical to advocacy' and is an important skill for future leaders who wish to be change agents in the special education field (Nagro, et al, 2018, p.68).…”

“…Analysing information Allen et al, 2008 Application of information Hearne, 2008 Critical thinking skills Lane et al, 2019;Roberts & Kreeger, 2019;Young & Goodman, 2015 Dissemination of information Nagro et al, 2018 Evaluation of information Hagan & Donavan, 2013;Keselman et al, 2019;Smith & Boster, 2009;Vessey & Miola, 1997. Information engagement Hagan et al, 2018 Information gathering Hawley et al, 2016 Information management Hagan & Donovan, 2013 Information seeking skills Hagan & Donovan, 2013;Kratzke et al, 2018 Information sharing Bloodgood & Clough, 2017;Scharff et al, 2018;White et al, 2010 Interpreting information Lane et al, 2019 Knowledge transfer Abram, 2017 Media literacy De Castro & Levesque, 2018…”

Your Voice Matters: A Practitioner’s Guide for Engaging in Policy Through Advocacy

“…For the purposes of this article, advocacy is defined as understanding and engaging in activities that inform the legislative process at the federal level, state, or local level. This form of advocacy is considered a skill needing to be practiced and refined due to the differences in the education and policymaking arenas (Nagro et al, 2019).…”

Poised to Advocate

“…However, such initiatives are rarely assessed in the context of supporting advocacy skills, and usually unfold without empirical evidence of their efficacy. In some fields, such as nursing, counselling, education, social work, and law, the development of knowledge and communication skills to empower future professionals to advocate on behalf of patients, students, or clients is accompanied by empirical research that aims to explore the impact of such initiatives on student capacity (Brawley, 1997;Doherty et al, 2016;Hurley, 2017;Nagro et al, 2019;Peltzer et al, 2016;Ramirez Stege et al, 2017;Vitielo, 2015). Such programs do so by designing and evaluating pedagogical tools across degree levels (bachelor, master, doctoral) that may involve experiential learning (Hurley, 2017;Peltzer et al, 2016); a formal communication competency program (Doherty et al, 2016); coursework, faculty projects, and internships (Anderson et al, 2005); or learning how to intervene through mass media with news releases, newspaper articles, letters to the editors, and radio and television interviews (Brawley, 1997).…”