A Place for Undergraduate Public Administration Education

This paper argues that the focus on graduate-level study in the field of public administration is largely due to the timing of the field's development and the state of American higher education after World War II. The rapid expansion of access to undergraduate education at a time when the role...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of public affairs education : J-PAE. 2011-09, Vol.17 (3), p.325-341
Main Author: Dougherty, George W.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Access
Classification
Curricula
Curriculum
Curriculum design
Educational administration
Graduate students
Graduate studies
Graduates
Higher education
Learning
Markets
Public Administration
Public administration education
Students
Undergraduate Programs
Undergraduate students
Undergraduate studies
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Summary:This paper argues that the focus on graduate-level study in the field of public administration is largely due to the timing of the field's development and the state of American higher education after World War II. The rapid expansion of access to undergraduate education at a time when the role of government grew considerably to deal with pressing social concerns created both a market for and an interest in public administration in the 1960s and 1970s. It was natural for scholars and students to focus on the specialized, higher order skills provided through graduate education to the neglect of undergraduate education in public administration under such circumstances. Building on the field of curriculum development, it is suggested that sequencing of knowledge for cumulative and continuous learning as presented in Bloom's Taxonomy is key to properly placing undergraduate programs in the field.
ISSN:1523-6803
2328-9643
DOI:10.1080/15236803.2011.12001648