Formation of ic-competence of the future master of public administration

The article is substantiated the practical aspects of the formation of IC-competence of the future master of public administration (for students of the second (master's) level of higher education of the educational-professional program 281 Public administration and administration. State educational policy) in terms of informatization of higher education; the role of Google services (for example, Google Classroom, Google Docs & SpreadSheets, Google Forms, Google Calendar) in the formation of IC-competence of the future master of public administration is revealed; their characteristics are outlined: 1) saving money on the purchase of software; 2) reducing the need for specialized classrooms, as in any classroom you can organize a modern educational process using laptops and wireless network; 3) the ability to perform many activities, monitor and evaluate student achievement online; 4) openness of the educational environment for those who teaches (teacher) and those who studied (student); examples of pedagogical using of elements of Google services for the formation of IС-competence of the future master of public administration in higher education institutions in the process of studying the discipline (educational component) "Management of the IT-structure of the educational institution".

Everything old is old again

A purpose of the Master of Public Administration (MPA) program is to translate theory into practical concepts to prepare leaders of the public and nonprofit sectors. The practice continues to employ entrepreneurial activities throughout the world. The academy has researched, written, and published extensively about entrepreneurship to build knowledge. The author pulled together aspects of the research to build an applicable framework for entrepreneurship—presenting, publishing, and designing an MPA course. This paper discusses that journey. The author sought to find the extent of similar courses in other accredited programs. The findings did not reveal widespread dissemination of entrepreneurship courses. An unintended finding shows that core course offerings appeared to be largely unchanged for decades. Is it time to “reinvent” the MPA program?

Analysis of the development of competences in a Brazilian master of public administration

This paper aims to analyze the main competences developed by graduates of a professional master’s degree in Brazilian public administration. For this purpose, the research developed (i) a theoretical framework to present the main competences for public sector professionals, (ii) a bibliometric analysis with the scientific publications about development of competences in public administration between 2009 and 2019, and (iii) an investigation of the graduates’ profile in the Brazilian professional master’s degree surveyed with a standard score. Finally, a map of investigated competences was elaborated, identifying the development levels according to the graduate’s perception acquired along a postgraduate program. These competences were distributed into four categories: high, medium, low and very-low development levels.

Integrating professional sustainability literacy into the master of public administration curriculum

Purpose Public administration, or the implementation of public policies by civil servants, will be central to implementing the Agenda 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. And yet, few American master of public administration (MPA) programs explicitly focus on sustainable development or sustainability literacy. This study asks whether it is possible to build professional sustainability literacy within a general MPA course, specifically in a course on quantitative methods. Design/methodology/approach Through a natural experiment conducted in three sections of the graduate course Quantitative Methods in Public Administration at UNC Wilmington, the study explores the relationship between student growth in professional sustainability literacy and a student’s level of foundational sustainability literacy, pro-environmental behavior, background knowledge in statistics and their interest in sustainable development within public administration. Findings The study finds that there is a statistically significant relationship between growth in a student’s professional sustainability literacy and two variables: above average foundational sustainability literacy and a high level of interest in sustainability policies and programs. Originality/value This study is the first to consider an embedded approach to sustainability education in the field of public administration.

Master of Public Administration and Master of Public Policy degrees: Differences and similarities in the curricula and course contents

The historical origins of public administration and public policy analysis suggest that Master of Public Administration and Master of Public Policy programs should have different focuses in their curricula: the former on management skills and the latter on analytical skills. To investigate whether and to what extent the two types of programs are different and whether the accreditation standards of the Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration have a homogenizing effect on them, we investigated the titles and descriptions of the courses in their core curricula. The results show some differences between Master of Public Administration and Master of Public Policy programs, but no clear distinction. Analytical skills are required by both Master of Public Administration and Master of Public Policy programs. Master of Public Policy programs distinguish themselves from Master of Public Administration programs primarily by requiring economics and economic analysis courses. Higher percentages of Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration-accredited programs require organization studies, human resource management, and public budgeting courses.

Challenges to inform the curricula of Master of Public Administration programmes

The emerging complex challenges confronting public administration (PA) leaders are used as reasons for rethinking the quality of PA education throughout the world. However, it is not clear what PA scholars mean when they use the word ‘challenge’ when rethinking the curricula of the Master of Public Administration (MPA) programmes globally. The questions this study set to answer were: what are the defining characteristics of the concept corresponding to those objects referred to as ‘challenges’ for MPA graduates to meet, and what are their implications for MPA curriculum standards? In an effort to answer these questions, a concept analysis of the concept ‘challenge’ within the context of PA and MPA curricula was done. For this purpose, three scholarly journals, as well as three operational documents, were purposefully selected for qualitative content analysis. The concept analysis showed that ‘challenge’ within the context of the MPA curriculum is characterised by being a PA task, its wickedness, and the required capabilities for public sector managers to undertake that task. The study found that due to the inherent wickedness of challenges, MPA curricula have to instil a capability in graduates for independent and autonomous thinking amidst a diversity of perspectives and settings.