Sage Journals: Discover world-class research

Abstract

This article outlines how Master of Public Administration (MPA)/Master of Public Policy (MPP) programs can integrate a project-based learning opportunity to study curricular design and accreditation needs in their quantitative courses. Bridging together theory and the practical implications of data collection and analysis is important for students’ long-term professional development. We provide case study examples of recent project-based learning opportunities in an MPA/MPP program in the United States in which students collected data on employer needs for MPA/MPP graduates. The projects provide an evidence base for program assessment and improvement. Focus groups conducted with project participants, including alumni and current students, demonstrate that they valued this opportunity because it provided them with important technical and interpersonal skills necessary to succeed in their capstones, internships, and future jobs. We provide scaffolding assignment examples and recommendations for professors interested in implementing similar projects in their own courses.

Keywords

Project-based learning curricular design professional development quantitative analysis accreditation

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Calder

(2015) Student wonderings: scaffolding student understanding within student-centred inquiry learning. ZDM: International Journal of Mathematics Education 47(7): 1121–1131.

Clark

Foster

(2017) ‘I’m not a natural mathematician’: inquiry-based learning, constructive alignment and introductory quantitative social science. Teaching Public Administration 35(3): 260–279.

Denhardt

(2001) The big questions of public administration education. Public Administration Review 61(5): 526–534.

Elliott

Robson

Dudau

(2020) Building student engagement through co-production and curriculum co-design in public administration programmes. Teaching Public Administration 39(3): 1–19.

Gerlach

Reinagel

(2016) Experiential learning in MPA programs: a case for complementarity between internship and service learning requirements. PS: Political Science & Politics 49(1): 132–138.

Goodman

(2008) Problem-based learning in the MPA curriculum. Journal of Public Affairs Education 14(2): 253–270.

Godwin

Meek

(2016) The scholarly practitioner: connections of research and practice in the classroom. Teaching Public Administration 34(1): 54–69.

Gunn

(2017a) Critical debates in teaching research methods in the social sciences. Teaching Public Administration 35(3): 241–259.

Gunn

(2017b) Embedding quantitative methods by stealth in political science: developing a pedagogy for psephology. Teaching Public Administration 35(3): 301–320.

10.

Hammond

Gibbons

(2005) What is scaffolding? In: Burns

De Silva

(eds) Teachers’ Voices 8: Explicitly Supporting Reading and Writing in the Classroom. Sydney NSW [Australia: National Centre for English Language Teaching and Research], Macquarie University, 8–16.

11.

Haupt

Kapucu

(2017) Core competencies in master of public administration programs: perspectives from local government managers. Journal of Public Affairs Education 23(1): 611–624.

12.

Henderson

Chetkovich

(2014) Sectors and skills: career trajectories and training needs of MPP students. Journal of Public Affairs Education 20(2): 193–216.

13.

Kapucu

Koliba

(2017) Using competency-based portfolios as a pedagogical tool and assessment strategy in MPA programs. Journal of Public Affairs Education 23(4): 993–1016.

14.

Kinsella

Waite

(2020) Identifying and developing desirable soft skills for public service. Teaching Public Administration. DOI: 10.1177/0144739420931552

15.

Lambright

(2008) Lessons outside of the classroom: examining the effectiveness of service learning projects at achieving learning objectives. Journal of Public Affairs Education 14(2): 205–217.

16.

Lowery

(2007) Community-based quality of life indicators: a service-learning exercise in a graduate statistics class. Journal of Public Affairs Education 13(2): 425–438.

17.

Mason

(2008) Client-oriented projects: GIS course design with the potential to serve multiple constituents. Journal of Public Affairs Education 14(2): 241–252.

18.

Meltzer

(2013) Practice makes perfect: teaching policy analysis through integrated client-based projects. Journal of Public Affairs Education 19(3): 405–431.

19.

Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration (NASPAA), Commission onPeer Review and Accreditation (2019) NASPAA standards: accreditation standards for mas-ter’s degree programs. Available at: https://www.naspaa.org/sites/default/files/docs/2019-11/NASPAAAccreditationStandards-2019FINALwithrationale.pdf (accessed 7 December 2021).

20.

Neely

Coggburn

Phelps-Hillen

(2018) Measuring the practice of engagement in public administration. Teaching Public Administration 36(3): 276–300.

21.

O’Neill

(2021) MPA/MPP programmes and the future of work: does MPA curriculum align with civil service requirements? Teaching Public Administration. DOI: 10.1177/0144739420984503.

22.

Peters

(2014) Promoting the use of higher level cognitive processes in a quantitative analysis course. Teaching Public Administration 32(1): 39–54.

23.

Peters

(2015) Anchored learning and the development of creative, critical thinking and life-long learning skills. Teaching Public Administration 33(3): 221–240.

24.

Reinke

(2001) Teachable moments: teaching teamwork through research. Journal of Public Affairs Education 7(3): 153–160.

25.

Robles

(2012) Executive perceptions of the top 10 soft skills needed in today’s workplace. Business Communication Quarterly 75(4): 453–465.

26.

Saldivar

(2015) Team-based learning: a model for democratic and culturally competent 21st century public administrators. Journal of Public Affairs Education 21(2): 143–164.

27.

Sarter

(2020) The power of collaboration: reflections on a collaborative approach to teaching research methods in public administration. Teaching Public Administration 38(2): 101–112.

28.

Smith

Martinez-Moyano

(2012) Techniques in teaching statistics: linking research production and research use. Journal of Public Affairs Education 18(1): 107–136.

29.

Stout

Holmes

(2013) From theory to practice: utilizing integrative seminars as bookends to the master of public administration program of study. Teaching Public Administration 31(2): 186–203.

30.

Straussman

(2015) Developing craft skills with quasi-cases: the example of the big apple’s flirtation with congestion pricing. Teaching Public Administration 33(2): 175–192.

31.

van der Steen

Van Twist

Frissen

(2017) Learning from experience: from case-based teaching to experience-based learning. Teaching Public Administration 35(1): 105–125.

32.

van Dijk

Vivian

Malan

(2019) Creating epistemic access through a scaffold approach: academic literacy skills development for South African first-year public administration students. Teaching Public Administration 37(2): 156–174.

33.

Veselý

(2020) Policy formulation redesigned: a new understanding of policy design and its implications for instruction. Teaching Public Administration 38(3): 213–232.

34.

Whitaker

Berner

(2004) Learning through action: how MPA public service team projects help students learn research and management skills. Journal of Public Affairs Education 10(4): 279–294.

35.

Zhang

Lee

Yang

(2012) Knowledge and skills for policy making: stories from local public managers in Florida. Journal of Public Affairs Education 18(1): 183–208.

Supplementary Material

Please find the following supplemental material available below.

For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.

For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.

0.00 MB

0.18 MB