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Research Papers in Economics

SUBJECT:  How Education Can Help Resolve Public Issues
(Lesson Plan to supplement pages 1-6)
CONCEPT:  There are two roads to public issues education.  For some people, it begins with
an issue that is already on the public agenda but is not getting resolved because of conflict (for
example:  spotted owls, hog odors, siting of landfills).  For others, it begins with a problem at the
individual or family level but where the causes are partly "environmental" (example:  poor
nutrition is a result partly of personal decisions but als  of environmental  conditions such as
poverty and lack of access to food stores), in which case public decisions may be needed to
change the environment.  For people following either of these roads, politics -- the process of
public decision making -- is part of the problem.  People affected by public issues are sometimes
uninvolved  or poorly represented; issues are polarized;  decisions fail to get made.  Yet there are
more constructive ways to address public  issues, in both theory and practice.  There are success
stories throughout the country.  Progress is slow, however, because few people have experience
with collaborative, consensus-oriented forums.  People interested in making a difference can help
organize and facilitate  such forums.  But, doing so is different from more customary roles such as
information provision or advocacy.  People need help in visualizing these roles and seeing ways
they can actually perform them.
LEARNER OBJECTIVES: At the completion of this lesson, learners will be able to:
1. Develop a shared awareness of how public decisions are typically made.
2.  Envision strategies for improving the public decision making process.
3.  Describe one or more roles in which they are comfortable.
BEFORE PRESENTING THIS MATERIAL:
1. Review pages  1-6 in Increasing  Competence in Resolving Public Issues.
2.  Prepare  a transparency of "Roles/Functions for Public Issues Educators."
3.  Review and duplicate "Considerations  Prior To Public Issues Education Involvement",
"Public Issues Educators Respond" and "More Tips and Guiding Principles" handouts or
have copies of Increasing  Competence in Resolving Public  Issues for each participant.
4.  Arrange for presentation of an example of "politics as usual."  This could involve one of the
following:  (1)  a role play with conflicting parties dealing with an issue and trying to make or
influence  a decision, (2)  a videotape of a contentious meeting, (3)  a videotape of news reports
about one or more public issues likely to be of interest to participants, or (4) selected
newspaper  stories about political issues.  The point here is to illustrate "politics as usual."
Most examples will be negative.  Try to find some positive examples of public decision
making.
15.  Read "Case Study: Cameron County Ag
and Wildlife Coexistence Committee."
Preview and arrange for showing the
videotape of the Cameron County case
study (videoconference  produced
October 26, 1993)  or a similar example
showing more constructive ways to
address public issues.
MEETING AGENDA  FOR MATERIAL PRESENTATION:
1. Introduce the topic of how education can help resolve public issues.
2.  Share learner objectives.
3.  Provide a brief illustration or reminder of "politics as usual."  This could be a role play by
volunteers from your audience, a videotape of a contentious local meeting (city council,
public hearing, etc.), video footage of local, state, or national news coverage of one or
more public issues, or selected newspaper stories about public issues.  Ask:
-What  do you think of this way of making public decisions?
- What is annoying, destructive, or unhelpful in this approach?  (Record these on
newsprint.)  How typical is the example?
-What  was done right?  What was helpful in the example?
4.  Shift the discussion to how the process could be improved.  Ask participants to imagine their
own community five or ten years in the future, after people have worked successfully to
improve the way the community addresses contentious  issues.  Give them a few minutes to
think.  Then ask:
- How is it done?  How are contentious issues addressed?  In the intervening ten years,
what had changed from the way issues are currently addressed?
- What else could be done to improve public decision making?
What leadership would be necessary to make a difference?  Who could do it?
-What  would be the obstacles?  (Policy makers who don't want more public involve-
ment?  Advocates who don't want to compromise?  Others?)  How are those people
hurt by politics as usual?  What advantages would they find in a different approach?
5. Show the Cameron County case study (or another example of constructively addressing a
contentious  issue).  Discuss contentious  issues and obstacles, and ask how they were dealt
2
Public  Issues Education: Essential Tools for
Extension Educators. Videoconference
series produced by University of Wisconsin-
Extension in conjunction with Extension
Service-USDA Telecommunications  Office.
October 26,  1993; January 25, 1994;
February 22, 1994.  Available on videotape.with in this example.  Ask:
- Who took the leadership for a more constructive approach?
- Who else played critical roles?
- What did they do?
- Did the policy makers benefit from this approach?
-Did  the advocates benefit?
- What about the educators or facilitators (e.g., the extension agent in the Cameron
County case)?
- What did they gain or lose?
6.  Ask each participant to think of an issue in which he or she is, or could be, involved.  Ask
participants to think about their personal skills and "comfort" level in dealing with issues.
Use handout "Considerations  Prior To Public Issues Education Involvement" for personal
assessment.
7.  Look at the list of roles (transparency or pages 3-4 of Increasing  Competence in Resolving
Public  Issues).  Would you be comfortable  performing those roles?  If not, could you get
someone else to do it effectively?  What roles could you play?  What training or other
resources would you need?
8.  Discuss how public issues educators respond to beginners'  concerns (handout or page 5 in
Increasing  Competence in Resolving Public  Issues).  Choose some of the boldface statements
and frame them as questions-e.g.,  "I don't have the process skills.  What can I do?"  Ask
your audience how they would answer those questions.  Then give the experienced educators'
answers and discuss further if appropriate.  (You may choose to use the handout after the
discussion).
9.  Discuss some of the tips and guiding principles for public issues education (handout or page 6
of Increasing  Competence in Resolving Public  Issues).  Ask: Why are these important?  What
can educators or facilitators do to make them happen?
3Transparency
ROLES/FUNCTIONS  FOR
PUBLIC ISSUES EDUCATORS
A public issues educator's roles or functions may
include being:
U a convener
*  a program  planner
*  afacilitator
*  an information  provider
*  an adviser/analyst
*  a  forecaster
Source:  Dale, D. D. & Hahn, A. J. (eds.). (1994).  Public Issues Education: Increasing Competence in Resolving
Public Issues.  Public Issues Education Materials  Task Force of the National Public Policy Education Committee
and PLC and PODC subcommittees  of the Extension Committee on Organization and Policy.  Madison, Wisconsin:
University  of Wisconsin-Extension.
4Handout
CONSIDERATIONS  PRIOR TO PUBLIC ISSUES  EDUCATION
INVOLVEMENT
1.  What are my personal skills in working with groups?  (facilitation, goal setting, delegating,
open mindedness, conflict management,  bringing people together, etc.)
2.  What types of people are concerned about this issue?
3.  How many people are affected by this issue?
4.  Is controversy low or high; widespread or narrowly focused?
5.  How much time can you invest in the concern?
6.  When will (must) decisions be made?
7.  How can all stakeholders become involved in discussion?
Source:  Stevens, G. L. & Vance,  K. L. (eds.).  (1995).  Inservice Guide  A Supplement to Public Issues Education:
Increasing Competence in Resolving Public  Issues.  Public Issues Education Materials  Task Force of the National
Public Policy Education Committee and PLC and PODC subcommittees  of the Extension Committee  on
Organization  and Policy.  Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Cooperative Extension.
5Handout
PUBLIC ISSUES EDUCATORS  RESPOND
We asked experienced  public
issues educators how they would
respond to some of the concerns often
raised by beginners.  Their answers
follow.
"I'd like to do public issues
education, but I don't know how."
Tim Wallace: What we need to do is
just get started, and find out what the
real gaps are, instead of just imagining
them.
"I don't have the process skills."
Fred  Woods: You've got someone  on
your state Extension staff who does.  It
shouldn't be a problem to ask for help
on process skills, just as you ask for
help on subject matter skills.
Georgia  Stevens: Let's clarify the issue
first, then identify the skills we'll need
to move ahead.
"This sort of process  takes too  long."
Ron Faas:  It might be a situation of
"take the time now or take it later."
Also, there may be alternatives to the
amount of time it seems like it would
take.
Tim Wallace: It does take a lot of
energy and a lot of time, but you can
phase it in.
"I'm a community person.  I don't
have  a base  in an academic
institution."
Tim Wallace: Communities have many
resources, including universities, that
they can draw on.
Fred Woods: Extension  can help.
Every state has at least one person with
public issues education responsibility,
and Extension can provide access to the
relevant academic base.
"I can't generate interest, even
though a real and important issue
exists."
Georgia  Stevens: If it's a genuine issue,
there's bound to be interest.  It's more a
matter of uncovering the interest by
bringing interested parties together.
Tim Wallace: Others must not be on
your wavelength; you'll have to do a
lot more sounding of the
community-asking questions, then
listening to the feedback.
Fred Woods: Is it your interest, or is it
truly a community interest?  If it truly
is something the public should be
interested in, maybe it's not stated in
the proper way and you should work on
framing the issue in a way that is
meaningful to the community.
"I'm caught in the middle."
Fred  Woods: That's the challenge and
the fun of doing public issues
education-doing solid educational
work in the midst of controversial
issues, and yet not becoming part of the
controversy.
Tim  Wallace: As facilitator, you can
respond like this: "Well let's take a
look.  Is your point of view up here?  If
so, we've got it."
Ron Faas:  Clarify your educational
role; you may be caught in the middle
because people misperceive that role.
Tim Wallace: "...And remember, my
role is a facilitator and a questioner:
I'm not here to advocate any point of
view.  That's your responsibility."
Fred  Woods: Tell the same story to all
the parties concerned.
Wes Daberkow: "Caught in the middle"
implies there are only two options.
One way to take off some heat is to
generate more options.
How will  I know I helped make a
difference?
Fred Woods: Remember that you don't
measure making a difference by your
opinion of whether the best choice was
made.  It's whether people feel that
they made an informed decision.
"I prefer to be an advocate, not a
neutral educator."
Tim  Wallace: Your credibility  is at
stake as a community leader.  You've
got to be objective about the outcomes,
although not neutral about the process
used for resolution.
Ron Faas:  It's important for facilitators
and  participants to distinguish between
advocating an outcome and advocating
process.  It is appropriate-almost
inevitable-for the educator to
advocate a process.
"The group I'm working with is
stuck in gridlock; the issue seems
impossible  to resolve."
Tim  Wallace: The facilitator can say to
the group: "Time out!  Put yourself in
the other person's shoes and write
down why you think they think you're
being unreasonable."
Fred Woods: Training in mediation and
conflict resolution will help.
Ron Faas: If the educator is less
experienced, this may be a time to call
for help.  Consider calling in a
negotiator or mediator to take stock of
the situation, maybe help work out an
appropriate course of action-possibly
formal dispute resolution.
"Someone  is dominating the process.
What can I do about it?"
Fred  Woods: Remind them that others
must have their opportunity to be heard
as well.  If possible, before you start,
try to set rules with which all agree, to
keep any one group or individual from
dominating.
Source: Dale, D. D. & Hali,  A. J. (eds.). (1994).  Public Issues Education:  ncrein  Cometence  in Rsolv  in c  s  . Public Issues Education  Materials  Task
Force of  the National  Public Policy Education Comittee and PLC and PODC subcomamittees of the Extension Committee on Organization and Policy.  Madison,
Wisconsin:  University of WisconsinmExtension.
6Handout
MORE TIPS AND GUIDING PRINCIPLES
A  "One element that was missing from
many of the projects' interventions
was  'intensity.'  Successful public
policy education programs require an
educational  intervention that is
sufficiently intense or powerful to
accomplish the intended aims for the
intended audience and issue."
A "The likelihood of successful public
policy education programs  is
enhanced when they are planned and
implemented by a coalition of
organizations."
A "Strong coalitions  are not automatically
formed by the coming together of two
or more organizations.  Rather, they
must be created and carefully
nurtured..."
A "Coalitions typically have benefits for
individual and organizational  members.
However...individual  leadership
development and organizational  change
should not be substituted for meaningful
progress in the policy arena."
A "Public policy education can be
effective in the absence of a formal
coalition, but not in the absence of the
spirit or broad intentions of a
coalition-specifically,  the
commitment to meaningfully
incorporating diversity-by offering
policy alternatives that reflect different
points of view and, at root, different
values-in the form and function of the
program offered."
I  "Different modes of public policy education are
legitimate and appropriate for different
audiences,  issues, and contexts.  The dialogue
mode warrants increased attention..."
A "The empowerment mode...is under-utilized,
suggesting a future need to more concertedly
reach out to groups and individuals who are
currently affected by but not involved in the
policy process."
A  "Attention to process as well as content is a
critical feature..."
A "The media are an underutilized but potentially
strategic resource for public policy education."
A  "Tensions between education and advocacy are
inevitable...Guidelines  saying 'educate,  don't
advocate'  are not completely adequate."
A "...Purposeful attention to evaluation design
would (be) helpful at the beginning of project
development."
A "Project staff should not be the sole evaluators of
their projects.
A  "Outcomes  for participants...were reported far
more frequently than impacts on public issues or
on the policy making process, even though
the latter is clearly of interest...More emphasis
is needed on the assessment of issue or process
impacts."
A "Realistic and significant targets for (sustainable
outcomes include) changes in the way
participating organizations understand, value, or
conduct their work (capacity-building
outcomes)."
Source:  Hahn, A. J.,  Greene, J., & Waterman,  C.  (1994).  Educating About Public Issues:  Lessons from Eleven Innovative
Public Policy Education Projects.  Ithaca,  NY: Cornell Cooperative Extension,  1994.
7Handout
CASE STUDY:  CAMERON
COUNTY
AG AND  WILDLIFE
COEXISTENCE COMMITTEE
Key people
Wayne Halbert-Committee Chair; Director,
Harlingen Irrigation District; a cotton grower
Steve Thompson-U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service;
Manager, Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge
Terry Lockamy-county  agricultural agent,
Cameron County Cooperative Extension
Bobby Crum-staff of growers'  cooperative
chemical division
Rose Farmer-manager, National Audubon
Society's Sabal Palm Grove Sanctuary
Situation
One of four Texas counties in the Rio Grande
Valley's delta region, Cameron County is located  in
the state's southern-most tip.  Cotton is the major
cash crop, grown on over  120,000 acres with a dollar
value of more than $100  million.  Other major crops
include corn and grain sorghum, often grown in
rotation with cotton.
The region  is rich in birds and other wildlife.
Six endangered species dwell here, including the
jagurundi, the ocelot and the aplomado falcon.  Until
the mid-1940s, the aplomado nested in Cameron
County.  After that, it was rarely seen until the
Peregrine Foundation,  a wildlife organization,
established a release program with release locations
in the Laguna Atascosa Wildlife Refuge in 1985.
The chronology  in the sidebar lists the events
leading to a solution for this potentially volatile issue
concerning  cotton growers and endangered species  in
Cameron County.
Chronology
1973 Endangered Species Act becomes
law.
October 1987 Cameron County agriculture
agent receives word via Texas A&M chemist
that the EPA has proposed banning 14
pesticides considered essential in cotton
production.  The ban, designed to protect the
aplomado falcon, would take effect in
February,  1988.  Agent shares this
information with Extension's Field Crops
Committee.
Late fall 1987 Growers organize  letter-
writing campaign and begin calling political
leaders to express their concern.  EPA
withdraws the proposed ban, but regulatory
action seems likely by September,  1988.
January 1988 Growers,  convinced the issue
has not been resolved, pursue a collaborative
approach.  With encouragement from the
Field Crops Committee, county agent helps
organize the Ag and Wildlife Coexistence
Committee.
February 1988 County commissioners
authorize the Ag and Wildlife Coexistence
Committee.  The committee meets, develops
working relationships, shares information,
and develops recommendations  for pesticide
use and buffer zones.
Summer 1988 Recommendations  are
presented to the community  at a public
hearing.  County commissioners  endorse the
recommendations and forward them to EPA
and U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.
1988-1991  Various parties encourage federal
agencies  to consider the community's
recommendations.
Source:  Dale, D. D. & Hahn,  A. J. (eds.). (1994).  Public Issues Education:  Increasing Competence  in Resolving Public Issues.
Public Issues Education  Materials Task Force of the National Public Policy  Education Committee  and PLC and PODC
subcommittees of the Extension Committee on Organization  and Policy.  Madison, Wisconsin:  University  of Wisconsin-
Extension.
8

HOW EDUCATION CAN HELP RESOLVE PUBLIC ISSUES (LESSON PLAN TO SUPPLEMENT PAGES 1-6)

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