CISH GLOBAL POLITICS

Political
engagement
activity

2020-2021 SCHOOL YEAR

contents
1. WHAT IS THE PEA?

2. WORKFLOW

3. CHOOSING A

POLITICAL ISSUE

4. EXAMPLES

5. COMPLEMENTARY

RESEARCH

6. SELECTING

ENGAGEMENTS

7. ETHICAL

GUIDELINES

8. THE REPORT

9. COMMAND TERMS
CISH GLOBAL POLITICS

what is the pea?

The Political Engagement Activity (PEA) A general timeline for the PEA can be
is a required internal assessment in DP found below. These are hard deadlines
Global Politics. It must be completed that must be met to ensure you are on
by all students at SL and HL. AT CISH track for completion and to receive
you will work on the PEA during grade valuable feedback from your teacher.
11 and grade 12 with a final submission
in December of your second year. 1. Personal Statement of
Interest (DP1)
The general purpose of the PEA is for 2. Political Issue Proposal
you to learn about a political issue of (DP1)
personal interest to you through 3. Engagement Proposal (DP1)
experience. This means you will learn 4. Summary of Secondary
by doing and by reflecting on what you Research (DP1)
experienced about real life politics. This 5. Completion of Engagements
is not a traditional research essay or (DP2)
report. Although you are required to do 6. First Draft of the Report
secondary research this is only intended (DP2)
to complement your learning from the 7. Final Submission of the
engagements. Report (DP2)

"The engagement activity provides students with an opportunity to explore the

central unifying theme of the course—people, power and politics—in practice
and outside the classroom. In the course of their engagement activity, students
may, for example, learn about the local manifestations of a global issue,
engage with primary sources and experience the dynamics and consequences
of decision-making on individuals and communities. Although the emphasis of
the task is on active engagement rather than primarily on research, it is
expected that students make use of the key concepts, theories and ideas they
are learning in the classroom and undertake further reading to inform their
planning and actions, and their discussion of the political issue raised in their
activities. In brief, the task aims at active and reflective engagement. The
engagement activity work culminates in a 2,000-word written report.

There are three parts to the engagement activity work: undertaking an

engagement, doing complementary research and writing a report. Although the
written report is the assessed component of the engagement activity, students’
planning, actions, further reading and discussion are interconnected; all are
required for a good end result. Moreover, students can expect to go back and
forth between the different elements of the work: for example, they should do
some preliminary research on the context of their activities before they engage,
and while writing their report, they may discover areas for which additional
research is needed to balance the perspectives acquired through the
engagement." (Global Politics Guide 2017)

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 CISH GLOBAL POLITICS

pea workflow
You should go "back
and forth" between
complementary
research and your
engagements. It is
Formulate a important to keep in
political issue mind that your research
is primarily to inform
your learning from the
engagements. The
research is not the
focus of the PEA.

Complementary
Engagement
research

Once you are satisfied Report

with your research and
engagements you can
move on to the report.

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CISH GLOBAL POLITICS

choosing a political issue

"IN THE GLOBAL POLITICS COURSE, A
POLITICAL ISSUE IS ANY QUESTION THAT
DEALS WITH HOW POWER IS
DISTRIBUTED AND HOW IT OPERATES
WITHIN SOCIAL ORGANIZATION, AND
HOW PEOPLE THINK ABOUT, AND
ENGAGE IN, THEIR COMMUNITIES AND
THE WIDER WORLD ON MATTERS THAT
AFFECT THEIR LIVES."

Choosing an appropriate A good starting point for a

political issue is perhaps the political issue are the key
most important step in the concepts of Global Politics.
PEA. The political issue is These are the big ideas
both the purpose (why?) which are the focus of a
and focus (what?) of your great deal of political
engagements and your activity.
research. The sooner you
choose an appropriate To ensure your political issue
political issue the sooner you is appropriate it must;
can get to work on your
complementary research and be relevant to the study of
your engagements. global politics (course
content/key concepts)
It is also very important to be of personal interest to
phrase your political issue as you (why do you care?)
a question. Your report must and must affect a
present a conclusion and it community you have a
will be useful to frame this stake in. (how does it
as an answer to your political affect you or people you
issue. know?)

2020-2021 SCHOOL YEAR

examples
Example #1
Political Issue
How does the nature of democracy impact
upon representation of women in politics?

Engagements
Attendance at a full meeting of city
council, followed by interviews with two of
its female councillors.
Campaigning with a city councillor in
support of a female candidate running for
the national parliament.
Attendance at a conference to hear a
speech by a female member of parliament
opposed to quotas for women in politics.
Participation in a group discussion with a
female government minister.

Example #2
Political Issue
How legitimate and effective are the
strategies employed by NGOs in improving
women’s rights in country A compared to the
legitimacy and effectiveness of an outside
military intervention?

Engagements
Preparation and performance of street
theatre on the theme of women's rights in
country A for NGO B.
Interviews with women from country A
involved in NGO B's work.

Example #3
Political Issue
What are the impacts of “voluntarism” on the
local and national development of country C?

Engagements
Three-week stay and work at a
"voluntarism" school in country C.
Interviews with the school's
representatives and other local
stakeholders.
Discussions with students and parents.
 examples

Example #4 Example #5
Political Issue Political Issue
What are the strengths and weaknesses of How do processes of global politics
international law, when applied to influence where the products we need in
personal responsibility for war crimes and daily life come from and how they are
crimes against humanity? made?

Engagements Engagements
Participation in a question and answer Investigation into the value chain of
session at international criminal courts select three products in a local store: a
D and E. locally sourced vegetable, a nationally
Observation of a trial against a war sourced drink and an internationally
criminal at court D. sourced toy, including interviews with
Preparation and participation in a mock the store purchasing manager, the local
war crime trial in the role of a farmer selling the vegetable, the drink
prosecutor. company and an NGO working
CISH GLOBAL POLITICS

complementary research
"THE ROLE OF RESEARCH IN THE
ENGAGEMENT ACTIVITY IS TO COMPLEMENT
WHAT STUDENTS LEARN THROUGH THEIR
ENGAGEMENT, INCLUDING THEIR OWN
EVOLVING BELIEFS AND PERSPECTIVES."

One of the three key components To help guide your research you
of the PEA is complementary should consider a few important
research. This is meant to support questions;
your learning from the
engagements. Further guidance on In addition to my engagement,
complementary research from the what knowledge and
IB can be found below; understanding do I need to
write an effective analysis of my
"Students’ complementary research political issue?
can be based on primary and What are some important actors
secondary material, though the that are relevant to the political
emphasis is likely to be on issue and what background
secondary sources, as any primary information do I need to collect
research is likely to be a part of about them?
the engagement itself. During their What knowledge do I need to
experiential learning, students may effectively connect theories and
collect items such as photos, key concepts to my political
responses to questionnaires and issue and engagement?
extracts of interviews. Newspaper, What additional perspectives on
magazine and journal articles, the political issue can be
textbooks, carefully selected explored through research? (you
websites, images and audio-visual might not explore all
material are all legitimate perspectives in your
secondary sources. It is expected engagement)
that students will include in-text What are some strengths and
citations or references of the limitations of the different
supporting documents and a perspectives explored in my
bibliography, which should be engagement?
structured in a recognized
academic format. Primary sources One final note; your
significant to the students’ complementary research must be
discussion should be included in relevant to your political issue!
an appendix, where appropriate."

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 CISH GLOBAL POLITICS

selecting engagements
HOW WILL YOU LEARN ABOUT YOUR POLITICAL ISSUE IN AN
EXPERENTIAL WAY?

Now that you have a political issue and some secondary

research, it is time to think about engagements (what you
will actually do). There are a few things to keep in mind
while you consider your engagements;
Your engagements must be relevant to your political
issue (seems obvious right?).
The minimum expectation is two interviews, however
you are strongly encouraged to do more than this.
You should not do any engagements with friends or
family members unless there is a clear connection to
your political issue. If you do an engagement with these
people you must declare the relationship in your report.
Questionnaires, surveys, and other quantitative data
collection is not an engagement and is more relevant to
secondary research.
You need to choose a method for recording learning
from your engagements (e.g. photographs, notes,
interview transcripts) to verify the authenticity of your
work.
Start early. Planning and carrying out engagements
takes a lot of prep time. You are not in control of
other people's schedules so do NOT leave this to the
last minute!

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CISH GLOBAL POLITICS

ethical guidelines
DO'S AND DON'TS...

While conducting your engagements you must follow certain

ethical practices. Many will be common sense, however I do
want to point out some specific ones here.

Activities that involve deception, invasion of privacy, or

inappropriate use of communications technology must be
avoided.
Young children should not be used as participants. If you
do decide to interview children you must obtain the
written consent of a parent or legal guardian. Engagement
with children in a school must also obtain the written
consent of the teachers.
Do not carry out any activity that results in pain, stress,
anxiety, or discomfort for participants.
You are strongly discouraged from using relatives for the
engagement. If you do use relatives you must declare this
in your report.
Do be sensitive to local and international cultures.
Do not falsify or make up data. This will be considered an
academic misconduct.
You must give participants and interviewees the right to
withdraw data and personal responses. Anonymity for
each participant must be guaranteed, unless they are
an elected or appointed government official or they are
in a formal non-state actor role (e.g. NGO, IGO, MNC).
Some interviewees may choose not respond to questions
freely or independently. If you suspect this is the case then
you need to complement this engagement with other
opinions.

If you are unsure whether an engagement is ethical or not

then get in contact with Mr. Mitchler immediately.

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 CISH GLOBAL POLITICS

writing the report

Although there are three components of
the IA, (engagement, complementary
research, and the report) it is important to
recognize that the report is the only
assessed component. However, the quality
of your complementary research and your
engagement will be reflected in the report.
This means that if you have insufficient
research or an inadequate engagement the
quality of the report will suffer.

Assessment Criteria
There are four assessment criteria for the
report. These are listed below;
1. Identification of issue and justification (4
marks)
2. Explanation of the engagement (4
marks)
3. Analysis of the issue (6 marks)
4. Synthesis and evaluation (6 marks)

Word Limit
There is a word limit of 2000 words.
Anything above 2000 words will not be
assessed, either by me or by the IB
moderator. However, if your report falls
significantly below 2000 words it will most
likely lose marks because it is lacking depth
and detail. Therefore, it is critically
important that you try to get as close to
2000 words as possible.

You also need to ensure that everything you

put in the report is essential and helps you
analyse and evaluate the political issue. If
anything in your report does not help
achieve one of the four criteria, remove it!
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 CISH GLOBAL POLITICS
CISH GLOBAL POLITICS

writing the report

Structure and Format
There is no specific structure or format that
you are supposed to follow for the report. In
fact, the IB has stated they do not want
students to use a specific structure. Instead,
you are expected to integrate lessons you
learned from the engagement with
additional sources of information
throughout the entire report.
My only suggestions for structuring the
report are below;
Begin the report by clearly identifying
your political issue and justifying your
personal interest in the issue.
After that you should make it very clear
what your engagement(s) was and what
you actually did.
Start making connections between the
engagement, the political issue,
complementary research and course
content/concepts.

However, you must ensure you are

addressing each of the assessment
criteria in the report.

IT IS CRITICALLY IMPORTANT
THAT YOU ARE ANALYSING THE
POLITICAL ISSUE, MAKING
CONNECTIONS BETWEEN YOUR
ENGAGEMENT AND
COMPLEMENTARY RESEARCH,
AND EVALUATING DIFFERENT
PERSPECTIVES THROUGHOUT
THE REPORT.
2020-2021 SCHOOL YEAR
 CISH GLOBAL POLITICS

report checklist

Criterion A: Identification of Criterion B: Explanation of

the issue and justification the engagement (4 marks)
(4 marks) Is the description of the engagement
and of what the student actually did
Is the political issue explored through the
clear and relevant for their chosen
engagement identified?
political issue?
Have you clearly explained why this
Is there a clear explanatino of the ways in
particular engagement and political
which the student's experiences
issue are of personal interest to you?
informed his or her understanding of the
Have you demonstrated a clear link
political issue?
between the political issue and the
engagement, and also to with course
content (check the syllabus)?
Criterion D: Synthesis and
evaluation (6 marks)
Criterion C: Analysis of the
To what extent does the student
issue (6 marks) synthesize his or her experiences and
research in the discussion of the political
To what extent does the student analyse
issue?
the political issue?
To what extent does the studetn show
To what extent does the student justify
evidence of evaluation, underpinned by
his or her main points?
his or her experience and adequate
research, to allow multiple perspectives
on the political issue?
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CISH GLOBAL POLITICS

Command terms
WHAT DO WE MEAN BY THIS?

UNDERSTANDING COMMAND
TERMS IS KEY TO GETTING
HIGH SCORES IN THE IB
DIPLOMA PROGRAMME

ANALYSIS
Break down your political issue to
highlight and bring out the important or
essential elements. In other words, what is
it really about or what is really going on?
Analysis means to present the key or
essential information/ideas. Irrelevant or
"common sense" points should be avoided.

EVALUATION
Make a judgement or determination
by weighing strengths and
limitations . In the context of the PEA
you must evaluate different
perspectives on the political issue.

SYNTHESIS
Combining elements from more than
one source to create new knowledge
or perspectives. In the context of the
PEA, you must snythesize
engagement learning with
complementary research.

CONCLUSION
You must present a reasonable
conclusion in your report. This should
be in the form of an answer to your
political issue (research question) and
should be supported by the evidence
presented in the report.

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 CISH GLOBAL POLITICS

Got any
Questions?
DON'T BE SHY! E-MAIL MR. MITCHLER
WITH ANY QUESTIONS OR CONCERNS

2020-2021 SCHOOL YEAR