We, Daniel Blake: Applying experiential learning to the study of street-level bureaucracy

ABSTRACT

This article analyzes a learning experience in Brazil that combined traditional lectures and experiential learning inspired by ethnographic research. It innovates by applying the experiential learning cycle to the theme of street-level bureaucracy (SLB) in a highly unequal context. The main objectives are to discuss the challenges of teaching SLB, report on the course structure, and discuss the findings taken from the student’s assessment of the course. We evaluated three dimensions of learning outcomes – affective, knowledge, and skills-based – using a short questionnaire and focus groups. We found that students experienced the course differently depending on their professional background. Students with academic profiles particularly benefited from the increase of their teaching repertoire. Overall, they were highly motivated, applied the SLB framework to their research projects, and engaged in long-term activities related to the theme.

KEYWORDS:

• Street-level bureaucracy
• experiential learning
• fieldwork
• ethnographic research
• reflexivity

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Supplementary material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed here.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Fundação Getulio Vargas (FGV EAESP) [IAL holds a Teaching Assistant scholarship.].

Notes on contributors

Iana Alves de Lima

Iana Alves de Lima is a PhD student in Public Administration and Government and lecturer at Fundação Getulio Vargas (FGV- EAESP, Brazil). Researcher at the Bureaucracy Studies Center (NEB) and at the Center for Public Sector Policy and Economics (CEPESP). Master’s and bachelor’s degrees in Political Science from the Institute of Political Science, University of Brasilia (UnB). Interested in the study of political elites, bureaucracy, political capacity, and state permeability.

Gabriela Spanghero Lotta

Gabriela Spanghero Lotta is a Professor of Public Administration at Fundação Getulio Vargas (FGV) and Visiting Professor at Oxford (Blavatnik School of Government). She coordinates the Bureaucracy Studies Center (NEB). She is professor at the National School of Public Administration, ENAP and a researcher at the Center for Metropolitan Studies (CEM). She was a visiting professor at the University of Aalborg (Denmark) in 2019. She works mainly in the areas of public policy, bureaucracy, implementation, and government management. She has published articles in international journals in the area of health and public administration (Governance; Journal of Comparative Policy Analysis; Social Policy & Administration; Lancet and Social Sciences and Medicine). She has more than 10 books and 48 published papers in peer-reviewed journals. Lotta received her B.Sc. in public administration and PhD in Political Science at the University of São Paulo.