Experiential philanthropy in public affairs education: Learning for lives of giving?

Abstract

Globally, public affairs programs are designed to meet dual educational purposes. On the one hand, these professional degree programs are intended to educate students for careers in service to the public. On the other hand, these programs are also intended to educate students about our common responsibility to contribute to the betterment of society through civic participation and engagement. Not surprisingly, then, public affairs programs often include a curriculum emphasis on philanthropy; and, as a means of teaching philanthropy, experiential philanthropy has become an increasingly popular pedagogical strategy. Despite growing use of the pedagogy cross-nationally and consistent evidence of its short-term efficacy, there has been limited evidence of the pedagogy’s long-term impact. Therefore, in this study, we explore whether experiential philanthropy, as a pedagogical strategy within public affairs programs in the US and China, is associated with long-term philanthropic and prosocial outcomes of former course participants.