The Impact Of Education Policy

In today’s society, education is fundamental to a student for learning purposes and higher education development. The policy can influence education, which affects students at the state and federal levels. When social workers think about policy, it is important to understand the macro, mezzo, and  micro levels of systems that influence education. This paper will explore three different policies in the scheme of the levels, financial aid policy in higher education,an  anti-bullying policy implemented in the classroom, and the anti-discrimination policy at Metropolitan State University.

At the macro level, social welfare policy is defined as ‘broad laws, regulations, or guidelines that provide the basic framework for the provision of services and benefits’ (Popple, Leighninger, & Leighninger, 2018).

In higher education, people are allowed to attend school to further their education, whether it’s an undergraduate program or graduate program. At the macro level, the government helps make this policy possible by providing financial aid for students. The policy is known as the financial aid policy that is regulated at the state level.

The financial aid requirements remain equitable by the student maintaining a decent GPA, enrolling for a certain number of credit hours, and providing documentation (‘Financial Aid for Students,’ 2017). These elements are important to consider when applying for FAFSA because the state is responsible for tuition fees based off of a student’s residency, or the expected family contribution (EFC). For example, FAFSA receives documentation of your parent’s income or the individuals’ income, which calculates a reward amount for the year.

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Financial aid can come as loans, grants, or work study opportunities provided for the student. At the macro level, students are trying to stay afloat while being in debt and going to school. At the graduate level, students who use financial aid, take out loans for their program. Most students are set up to take out loans for thousands and thousands of dollars, to compete in a market where jobs are scarce. Even though loans are not ideal, there are opportunities to set up payment plans or talk to a counselor to help with the process of repayment. This policy can affect others at a macro level because students rely on taking out loans due to their social-economic status. While the macro discussion is important, there are policies that affect the mezzo level. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, laws against bullying are not in place, but the state could consider it discriminatory harassment when it was based on race, national origin, color, sex, age, disability, or religion (‘Laws & Policies,’ 2017).

At the mezzo level, bullying has become a major issue in our educational setting, which leaves people feeling helpless, traumatized, and questioning if the anti-bullying policy is effective in classrooms. Working with students in high school, staff recognized the culture of bullying. The process in school was handled by having a mediation if bullying occurred. There were no policies to regulate the bullying, which resulted in creating an anti-bullying policy in the classroom. First, staff designed a lesson that targeted the types of bullying that include verbal bullying, physical bullying, and emotional bullying. Students did not understand bullying, and how often students were engaging in emotional bullying.

Emotional bullying is when students manipulate situations to intentionally hurt their peers who had cognitive disadvantages. The next step was discussing with the students and creating clear boundaries with peers. The final step was coming together as a classroom and establishing consequences for bullying. These consequences included staying after school, completing community service, and writing a make-it-right apology to the student they bullied. At the mezzo level, these steps were important in the classroom because students often misunderstood how bullying was detrimental to their peers. Creating this policy may give the impression that it’s minimal in the classroom, but it created a safe place for students who were working on their treatment in a residential setting. A positive outcome was the students who helped create this policy, had a voice for their community. Students could hold themselves accountable and change the culture-based off the policy. As social workers, there needs to be a connection to help the clients solve a problem, but not necessarily fix the problem without their involvement.

Further discussion of policies leads to the appreciation of how education is influenced at the micro-level, by creating a protocol in schools all over the state. At the micro level, Metropolitan State Universities, anti-discrimination policy is a strong example. According to Metropolitan State University, the purpose of this policy is to meet federal and state anti-discrimination laws. The University will not engage in unlawful discrimination in employment opportunities or educational services against any person because of race, religion, gender, age, national origin, disability, veteran or marital status, or sexual orientation (‘Anti-Discrimination,’ 2007). At the micro level, it is important to understand the advantages of an anti-discrimination policy. As a Hispanic woman, there are opportunities to pursue  higher education at a place that allows free thought with the respect from other students and faculty. Students can have confidence that the classroom will not judge based on being a woman or being condemned for religious views. At the micro level, this policy can students security knowing that they can be who they are without being persecuted. Metro State is an extremely diverse school, and even though other universities may have the same policy, Metro models this policy to the fullest. In conclusion, as a future social worker, it was crucial to look at how the policy affected  daily life at a macro, mezzo, and micro levels.

At the macro level, the financial aid policy is set in place to help students gain an education, while having the students meet state requirements. At the mezzo level, staff created a community in the classroom, which allowed students to contribute to policies that would affect them. At the micro level, it is important to understand how the non-discrimination policy enhanced everyone by providing physical and emotional safety. Social workers need to consider all the systems because policy can affect everyone at different levels.

References

1. Anti-Discrimination. (2007, November 9). Retrieved September 7, 2018, from https://msudenver.edu/policy/policylibrary/policiesa-z/anti-discrimination/
2. Federal Laws. (2017, September 26). Retrieved September 7, 2018, from https://www.stopbullying.gov/laws/federal/index.html
3. Financial Aid for Students. (2017, July). Retrieved September 7, 2018, from https://highered.colorado.gov/Finance/FinancialAid/ Popple, P. R., Leighninger, L., & Leighninger, R. D. (2018)
4. The Policy-Based Profession: an Introduction to Social Welfare Policy Analysis for Social Workers. New York, NY: Pearson.