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NASJE Curriculum Design - Governance Entry Level - Overview

1.1 Governance Entry Level (79pg/.6MB)

National Association of State Judicial Educators (NASJE)

Notes:
Entry-Level Governance Curriculum Design

Description:

1.1.1.0 Curriculum Design

1.1.1.1 Curriculum Design Overview:
(This section provides an overview and states the purpose for this educational area.  It does not include all the detail shown in the outline, but is intended to provide a synopsis of the content.)

Judicial branch education products and services are often the result of a blended governance model.  This model combines administrative governance from the overarching administrative organization with some form of volunteer stakeholder-based governance from groups of learners and other stakeholders.  While these two types of governance are distinctly different, they blend in unique ways with the judicial branch education department for successful development and delivery of education for the judicial branch.

Administrative governance entities have responsibilities that are broader than judicial branch education.  For example, a supreme court, an administrative office of the courts, a university, or an association each oversees a variety of functions and delivers a variety of services and products.  Any of these entities may have responsibility for judicial branch education; with that responsibility comes line control over judicial branch education personnel.  In addition, they are generally the prime source of funding for educational activities, often including fiscal support of stakeholder-based governance entities. 

In contrast, stakeholder-based governance entities involved with judicial branch education are focused specifically on development and delivery of educational products and services for the judicial branch.  For example, a judicial branch education board or governing committee has education in the judicial branch as its prime area of focus.  Judicial branch educators need to understand the values and drawbacks of these two types of often co-existing governance bodies and to have the necessary skills and abilities to simultaneously address the needs and perspectives of both.

Courses based on this curriculum design will introduce judicial branch educators to the characteristics of administrative and stakeholder-based governance, potential considerations for how they may intersect, and the balance judicial branch educators need to maintain to achieve full benefit of both.  In addition, judicial branch educators will explore a variety of components necessary for an effective and robust stakeholder-based governance entity, including planning and conducting effective meetings.  Judicial branch educators will also explore the types of relationships they may have with stakeholder groups and with individual stakeholders and consider some dilemmas that highlight the types of decisions they may need to make in a blended governance environment.  Although governance will differ from provider to provider, judicial branch educators will benefit from exploring the many aspects of governance that affect their work.

1.1.1.2 Special Notes for Faculty:

Most judicial branch education efforts are the result of blended governance, a collaboration of administrative and stakeholder-based entities.  How blended governance is structured and operates will differ from state to state. Differences in administrative governance entities are often the result of the administrative organization itself, its size, its scope, and its relationship to judicial branch education.  Stakeholder-based governance entities differ in the number of groups involved in judicial branch education activities, the relationship among groups, and the level of responsibility assigned to each. 

This curriculum design includes content that is broad and adaptable to meet the educational needs of judicial branch educators in a variety of governance environments. Content is deliberately generalized in order to generate discussion and to enable faculty to tailor a course for a specific group of learners.  The overarching concept is that both administrative and stakeholder-based governance are necessary for a robust judicial branch education effort.  Content in this curriculum design focuses on both the relationship between these two types of governance and the between governance and judicial branch educators. Faculty for courses based on this curriculum design needs to be able to introduce content areas and then engage judicial branch educators in discussions based on the variety of local environments that will be represented in any learner group.

One sensitive area in the content is the type of relationships that may develop between a judicial branch educator and stakeholders involved in governance.  While judicial branch educators may develop friendships with stakeholders, they need to retain a degree of professional distance in order to effectively oversee judicial branch education and act in the best interests of all stakeholders.  Faculty needs to be prepared for differences of opinion regarding the appropriateness of relationships between judicial branch educators and stakeholders.  One potentially extraneous area of content is the information on meetings.  If the group of learners is familiar with issues related to meetings, faculty may choose to shorten this information or provide it as a handout.

The Curriculum Committee believes that issues of diversity and fairness, ethics, and technology are viable and valuable considerations to be incorporated into courses developed from NASJE curriculum designs.  After reviewing the entry-level curriculum design for governance, faculty should address these areas as appropriate for a specific course. In addition to how these issues are already incorporated into this curriculum design, additional content could include:

• Diversity and Fairness: The importance of diverse membership and representation on stakeholder-based governance groups; the relevance of different perspectives on issues that impact judicial branch education; the need for judicial branch educators to be culturally competent
• Ethics: The need for judicial branch educators to make ethical decisions regarding choice of stakeholders and faculty; the importance of ethical behavior when dealing with stakeholders and stakeholder groups
• Technology: Use of technology to convene individuals, share data among people and groups, and bridge communication gaps

1.1.1.3 Participant Learning Objectives:
(These are statements of what participants can say and/or do to demonstrate learning when participating in a course designed from this content.  Learning objectives are directly related to selection of content for this curriculum design.  They are listed in order of importance or in a logical progression in both the “in general” and “for the individual situation” sections. Faculty is encouraged to use learning objectives from both areas. Included with this curriculum design are participant activity suggestions for each learning objective.)

As a result of this education, participants will be able to:

In General:

• List the benefits and drawbacks of organizational or administrative governance models, including those found in administrative offices of the courts, universities, associations, and other entities.

• List the benefits and drawbacks of stakeholder-based governance models, including policy, advisory, program and course planning committees, as well as task forces and work groups.

• Compare and contrast roles, functions, and relationships in various stakeholder-based governance models.

• Discuss the roles and responsibilities of judicial branch educators in relation to organizational or administrative governance entities and stakeholder-based governance entities.

• Describe the overarching strategies and skills necessary for judicial branch educators to effectively implement and maintain shared governance responsibilities between administrative and stakeholder groups.

• Discuss the necessary components for establishing and maintaining effective stakeholder-based governance in judicial branch education.

For the Individual Situation:

• Describe the current local roles and relationships among administrative and stakeholder-based governance structures and judicial branch educators and identify whether and/or which improvements or enhancements could be made.