Analyzing a Situation

Session One

Introduce analyzing situations

• Invite students to role play reporters for this activity. Suggest that an important skill of reporters is the ability to identify the different people involved in a situation, how they may be affected by it and what are the underlying issues that need to be addressed. Explain to students that they will practise by analyzing an everyday situation—two friends trying to convince their parents or guardians to let them go to a movie. Display a transparency/slide of Going to the Movie or distribute a print copy to each pair of students. Read the scenario aloud.

Identify stakeholders

• Ask students to name all individuals who seem to be significantly affected by this situation. Explain that people who are likely to be affected or, in other words, have a stake in a situation, are sometimes called “stakeholders.” You may want to invite students to suggest other individuals who have a less significant stake in the situation;  e.g., the owner of the theatre, popcorn vendors, makers of the movie, police if there was an accident.

Identify stakeholders’ interests

• Invite individuals to identify the relevant facts and list them on the overhead or on a sheet of paper. As suggested in the Sample Issue Analysis chart below, the relevant facts in this situation are largely the various desires and concerns of the people involved. Explain to students that the above-mentioned people are stakeholders in this situation because they have something to gain or lose, depending upon how the situation is resolved. For each relevant fact, invite students to identify the individual or individuals affected and the values at stake. In doing this, help students distinguish the specific desire or concern (go to the movie, not pay for the movie) and the implied value or interest that will be affected if this result materializes (be entertained, save money). It may help to ask students what basic value will be promoted/reduced if the individual’s desire/concern comes about.

Sample Issue Analysis

Determine issues

• Once the interests have been identified, invite students to look for issues that emerge from these competing values. Direct students to look over the class chart or their copies of Going to the Movie to uncover possible issues. Invite students to frame their issues in question form—as issue-based questions. Issue-based questions often begin with the following stems:
  • Should people be . . . ? (Should George and Bill be expected to pay for their own movie? Should Bill be allowed to go to the movie if his chores are not completed?)
  • Is it fair . . . ? (Is it fair to expect parents or guardians to give up their own time to drive their children to the movies?)
  • What can be done to . . . ? (What can be done to make sure that George and Bill are safe if they go to the movie? What can be done to make sure that George and Bill will behave properly while at the movie?)
  • Would it be better to . . . ? (Would it be better to teach Bill to be responsible by making him do his chores before he goes to the movie or by letting him go if he promises to finish them afterward?)

Invite students to identify the many issues raised by this situation. Briefly discuss students’ opinions on each issue. Encourage students to suggest courses of action that promote as many of the stakeholders’ interests as possible (e.g., If the boys did the household chores for Bill and his parents, they could show their maturity, earn money to pay for their movie and free up Bill’s parents so they might drive the boys to the movie).

Review terminology

• Before moving to a practice example, review the following elements in the analysis of a situation:
  • stakeholders: the main individuals or groups who are or will be affected by the situation
  • interests: the basic values that may be affected positively or negatively depending on the outcome of the situation
  • issues: the contested matters or disagreements that lie at the heart of the situation.
    
    Effective issue-based questions often identify the stakeholders and the competing interests that are at stake.

Apply to skateboarder situation

• Provide students with additional practice in analyzing a situation by inviting them to identify significant stakeholders, implied interests and underlying issues raised by a hypothetical set of facts involving skateboarders. Ask students to work individually or with a partner using the facts presented in Skateboarders. Review the two sample answers before students embark on the activity.

Discuss criteria for stakeholder

• To assist in identifying the key stakeholders, invite students to consider the following criteria:
  • those for whom the situation has the greatest impact
  • those for whom the results will have the longest lasting effect
  • others who may not be directly affected but have a significant responsibility in the situation; e.g., government officials who establish the rules.