Case methodology: learning by doing

Case-based teaching is an active pedagogy that aims at placing students at the heart of complex situations. It crosses disciplinary approaches with a main challenge: enabling them to understand the various stages and aspects of a case in the public sphere (a reform, the merger of two institutions, the implementation of a project etc.). By doing so, the method consists in bringing students to put themselves in a situation, fictive today and possibly real tomorrow, of actors of sound public policy: action that is dynamic and takes many forms, which is turned towards the common good. In the School of Public Affairs, the implementation of this module responded to a desire and a need: that of proposing innovative and professionalizing modules, aiming at completing academic knowledge (hard skills) of our students through a true understanding of the situation and by the acquisition of professional competences (soft skills).

Case studies enable to confront students step by step to a complex professional situation, and thus, to put them in the position of a decision-maker, of an actor, or an evaluator. It is indeed the true definition of a case: a real situation describing in an as exhaustive way as possible the different protagonists engaged in a decision or its implementation. A case study therefore displays a decision or past action, which is to be evaluated according to different criteria.

But how to place a student in this position of actor or decision maker ?

This is the great challenge of the teacher who, to allow this to happen, must accept to leave a great space for discussions – structured and elaborated – with the students. Along the different sessions, the teacher will put the students in real situations, notably through simulations and role-play. In this perspective, the involvement of the student plays a great role in the success of the course. Without the teacher, nothing can happen. Thus, through case studies we wanted to propose a pedagogical experiment in its own right to the students as well as to the teachers.

One last point flows from this active pedagogy perspective: it is always about moving from the particular – the case – to the general – i.e. the theoretical challenges and the underlying problems. Announcing the challenges at the start, like is customary in an ex cathedra lecture, means “killing” the case and cancelling the pedagogical experiment that we have mentioned. In short, the case does not only have an illustrative or exemplification function: it is the object to be unhulled and to which all attention must be given.

What has to be kept in mind :

• Pedagogy via case studies has been developed since many years at Sciences Po. The School of Public Affairs has made it a key moment of the curriculum, the module being mandatory for all students in their second year of Master. In 2017 27 case studies – of which a dozen in English – have been proposed to the students.
• To encourage interactivity, classes never exceed 25 students, who are spread in smaller groups, each of them having a role to play.
• Sessions take place every two weeks in order to allow autonomous work between each session.
• Individual and collective discussion opportunities are regularly organized, allowing teachers to share their good practices.

In 2016 at the launch of the module students welcomed the new format very positively: out of the 19 courses proposed in 2016, half have benefited from a satisfaction rate over 85% at the last semester evaluations. It is thus a good achievement!

Our ambition is presently to pursue this initiative by enlarging our offer in English and by scientifically promoting our case studies through a digital library.

Reinventing public policies: focus on the case study titled “The merger of the treasury and tax administration in France”.

This case study aims at putting students in a situation of decision maker on one side, and actor of a great public organizational reform on the other side. It thus aimed to familiarize them with leading operational change in the public sphere and mixed different disciplines in so doing: sociology of organizations, history, public law, political science or even management.

This case was conceived by Philippe Parini, a French civil servant who has been directly implicated in the implementation of the reform. Philippe Parini also teaches the course, which constitutes an undeniable asset for students, one of them writes: “The fact that Mr Parini has organized and led the merger of the DGI and DGCP is an asset: perfect understanding of the file and more generally of the functioning of the French administration (its subtleties and dysfunctions)”.

Esther ROGAN (PhD), Studies and Pedagogical Innovation Division, Sciences Po.

For more information :

• Consult our website
• Consult the syllabus of the case studies of 2017
• Case studies constitute one of the four initiatives of the Public Innovations Laboratory of the School of Public Affairs of Sciences Po.