Bryan Shelly’s research focuses on education policy, intergovernmental relations, and political socialization.  He is the author of “Little Red Schoolhouse: Money, Mandates, and Local Control in American Public Education, and articles on public school funding, No Child Left Behind, and the civic training of student councils.  He serves as an Ex-Officio Board Member and Assistant Workshop Director for the Pennsylvania Association of Students Councils and as a Lead Tutor for the Emily Krzyzewski Center.  In his spare time he enjoys yoga and torturing himself through watching Philadelphia professional sports teams.

Education

BA     1998, Tufts University
PhD    2005, Princeton University

Academic Appointments

2005-present   Wake Forest University, Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science
2004-2005  Harvard University, Visiting Fellow, Department of Government
2003-2004  Princeton University, Fellowship of Woodrow Wilson Scholars; Woodrow Wilson School

Selected Publications

“Bonding, Bridging, and Boundary Breaking: the Civic Lessons of High School Student Activities.”  Journal of Political Science Education, forthcoming (expected Summer 2011).

Little Red Schoolhouse: Money, Mandates, and Local Control in American Public Education. Forthcoming 2010 with the University of Michigan Press.

“Rebels and Their Causes: State Resistance to No Child Left Behind.”  Publius: the Journal of Federalism, 38(2): 444-468, 2008.

“Local Control, Democracy, and Separation in the Public Opinion of School Finance Reform.” Journal of Educational Research & Policy Studies, 7(1): 15-35, 2008.

Pol 228  The Politics of Public Education

Few policy areas excite as much passionate debate in the United States as K-12 public education does.  Almost everyone has an opinion on what problems currently make student learning difficult.  From this common concern, however, people have a developed a staggeringly diverse array of reform programs and proposals.  One goal of this course is to introduce students to the details of the most popular and most contentious such reforms.  The second is for students to understand that a person's values heavily influence their beliefs on almost every relevant aspect of public education. 

Pol 215   Citizen and Community

This course is designed to get you to consider the role and responsibilities of a citizen in a democratic society.  It does so primarily through the examination of a policy issue (in this case, K-12 public education) and a consideration of various alternative policies for addressing this issue.  The policy issue is considered within the larger framework of democratic theory about the role of the citizen in the policy process.  In essence, the course is about applying democratic theory to a real life public issue and in a real life experience in civic engagement.

Pol 212   U.S. Policymaking in the 21st Century

The goal of this course is to give students an understanding of the major contemporary United States policy debates.  First we will examine the works of philosophers who will help us evaluate what good, just, enlightened policy should look like.  The bulk of the course will consider debates on war, terrorism, dealing with rogue states, the environment, the economy, health care, affirmative action, and social welfare provisions.  We will end the course discussing issues of implementation and the moral responsibilities of bureaucrats responsible for it.

Pol 280    Political Research Methods

Do you believe that policy ought to be based on sound evidence?  Do you believe that moral and philosophical arguments benefit when one can test how well they stand up in the real world?  Do you think our understanding of the world increases when we think critically about how we know what we think we know?  These questions point to the importance of this course.  An understanding of the methods political scientists commonly employ will help you to evaluate the merit of the research of others and conduct convincing research of your own.