The Scholarship of Engagement for Politics: - Higher Education ...

The Scholarship of Engagement for Politics
an approach emphasises to students the importance within the programme
of balancing academic with practical skills.
The skills assessed through the simulation are drawn from the lists
of criteria used by a number of inter-governmental and non-governmental
organisations in their recruitment and selection of personnel for work in
the field. These skills are considered the foundation for the majority of
professional posts in this area; while not every post requires the same
degree of skill, all will require some demonstration.
The skills themselves are common to many careers. However, what
marks them as different is the way in which a conflict environment affects
the importance and demonstration of the skill and as such the impact that
poor or good use of these skills can have on relationships and
understanding and therefore on the work carried out in a conflict-affected
area.
Each of the different simulations is designed to be able to provide
opportunities for participants to demonstrate all the core skills, either
through their interactions within a team or with the various actors and
scenarios they encounter. During a simulation, each team of participants is
shadowed by an experienced observer, who is a peacebuilding practitioner.
The observer is watching both the interactions of the team and the actions
of the individuals in order to assess their skills against a competency
matrix (see Appendix 7.2). This enables the observer to assess the level of
competency demonstrated in each skill area in order to ascertain each
student’s strengths and weaknesses in relation to conflict work.
Assessment through a simulation is approached as a supportive
development tool that provides a space in which the participant can reflect
on and receive feedback on their experience of, and performance in, the
simulation. The assessment is fed back through team and individual
debriefs between students and their assessing observer. The team debrief
explores the dynamics at play within the team, the roles individuals adopt
and the success and challenges of the team in working to their assignment.
The individual debrief looks at the participant’s individual assessment and
provides an opportunity to discuss the participant’s self- and peer
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