Building the Pipeline of Media and Technology Policy Advocates: The Role of “Situated Learning”

Given the importance of media policy issues, should institutions of higher education play a greater role in building media policy literacy and developing a pipeline of talent for third sector institutions? Emphatically yes, argues Professor Lentz, who shows how by analyzing four examples: Georgetown University Law School's Institute for Public Representation, the University Consortium on Media Policy Studies, the University of Colorado Public Interest Fellowship, and the Esther Peterson Fellowship Program at Consumers Union. These and other forms of “situated learning” might be used to cultivate opportunities for “legitimate peripheral participation,” which Lentz argues are key to the early development of skilled public policy advocates.