The Politics of School District Budgeting: Using Simulations to Enhance Student Learning

Engaging students with material associated with public budgeting processes can be a challenge. Our experience in an interdisciplinary seminar on education politics and policy suggests that a budget simulation exercise is an effective tool to achieve multiple objectives, including increased student engagement and strengthening student-learning outcomes, while offering a vehicle with which to explore significant policy issues. The effort described here draws on literature from both political science and education. It offers an approach that is adaptable and that can be used to encourage significant engagement from students with variable levels of prior experience and preparation.