Introduction: Special issue on curriculum design in public administration education: Challenges and perspectives

Abstract

The idea for this special issue emerged out of conversations that occurred on the margins of the International Research Society for Public Management’s panels on education and training. These discussions were wide-ranging, but their common point was a shared interest in the content of public administration and public policy programmes, particularly post-graduate programmes like the Masters of Public Administration (MPA). In other words, these were discussions about curriculum. Though there are several definitions of curriculum in the literature about higher education (Dillion, 2009; Hurlimann et al., 2013; O’Neill, 2015; Petkuté, 2016; Whelahan, 2015), most agree that it consists of the organization and structuring of disciplinary knowledge to enable learning. Curriculum is also about pedagogy and how best to adapt the methods of teaching and learning to convey disciplinary knowledge. Finally, curriculum is also about enabling students to acquire skills, competencies, and behaviours that are relevant to their disciplinary practice. The element of practice is particularly important as most MPA andMPP programmes have a professional orientation toward careers in government and the public sector. At the same time, international student mobility and availability of distance learning programmes -(with or without a residential component), curriculum perceived to be innovative or job-ready is one way by which public administration programmes differentiate themselves in a competitive market for students.