Instructional Materials in Political Science and Public Administration
| Author | Joseph R. Starr |
| Published date | 01 December 1961 |
| Date | 01 December 1961 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/002085236102700403 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Instructional
Materials
in
Political
Science
and
Public
Administration
by
Joseph
R.
STARR.
UDC
002 :
32
+
35.06
Need
for
Good
Instructional
Materials
A
basic
requirement
in
programs
of
public
administration,
linked
with
technical
assist-
ance
programs,
is
a
sufficient
supply
of
suit-
able,
readable,
and
authoritative
instructional
materials.
This
need
has
been
felt
by.practic-
ally
all
technicians
and
experts
connected
with
public
administration
programs,
particularly
by
those
who
are
closely
connected
with
schools
or
institutes
of
public
administration
or
other
training
programs.
The
establish-
ment
of
courses
of
instruction
is
almost
always
dependent
upon
the
existence
of
suitable
reading
material.
Broadly
speaking,
this
reading
material
should
be
of
two
kinds :
comprehensive
textbooks
and
pieces
of
writing
of
general
interest.
The
latter
consists
of
il-
lustrative
material
designed
to
attract
the
student’s
interest
and
to
encourage
him
to
read
more
widely
in
the
chosen
subject.
This
class
of
material
is
often
labeled
« supplementary
readings.
In the
field
of
public
administra-
tion,
it
should
include
the
type
of
writing
generally
known
as
K case
materials,-.
The
lack
of
suitable
reading
materials
has
been
a
tremendous
handicap
in
developing
courses
in
public
administration
and
training
programs
for
public
employees.
In
the
ab-
seance
of
suitable
reading
material,
the
lecture
method
of
instruction
predominates
in
univer-
sities
and
other
courses
of
study.
Possibilities
for
the
improvement
of
instruction
would
be
opened
by
placing
good
reading
materials
in
the
hands
of
university
professors
and
other
instructors,
by
providing
suitable
textbooks
for
students,
and
by
depositing
good
supple-
mentary
reading
materials
and
reference
works
in
libraries.
It
may
confidently
be
asserted
that
the
success
of
public
administration
pro-
grams
over
a
period
of
years
depends
upon
the
provision
of
such
materials.
The
principal
hope
for
the
constant
improvement
in
stan-
dards
of
public
administration
is
to
be
found
in
the
education
of
youth.
Without
good
instructional
material,
the
education
provided
will
necessarily
be
of
poor
quality.
The
need
for
instructional
material
cannot
be
fulfilled
merely
by
providing
books
and
pamphlets,
even
if
they
are
written
in
a
lan-
guage
which
the
student
can
read.
Attention
should
be
given
also
to
the
provision
of
new
kinds
of
instructional
materials,
particularly
those
of
an
audio-visual
nature.
These
include
notion
pictures,
charts,
diagrams
standard
forms,
handbook,
workbooks,
photographs,
artistic
presentations,
and
other
similar
ma-
terials
of
great
variety.
An
effort
should
be
made,
while
attempting
to
extend
instruction
in
public
administration
to
many
countries,
to
introduce
the
most
up-to-date
and
the
best
known
materials
and
methods
of
instruction.
Need
for
WoTld-Wide
View
The
provision
of
instructional
material
is
tremendously
complicated
by
the
necessity
of
carrying
on
technical
assistance
work
in
many
countries
and
different
languages.
A
large
portion
of
the
countries
concerned
fall
into
language
groups,
especially
the
Spanish-,
Arab.ic-,
and
French-speaking
countries.
It
would
be
difficult
to
say
how
many
different
languages
are
involved;
but
the
groups
of
countries
having
common
languages
offer
a
good
opportunity
for
the
initiation
of
a
pro-
gram.
A
text
found
to
be
useful
for
instruc-
tional
purposes
in
one
Spanish-speaking
coun-
try
is
probably
as
well
suited
for
use
in
any
other
underdeveloped
country
using
the
same
or
a
different
language.
A
great
step
forward
might
be
made
by
abandoning
the
search
for
texts
suitable
for
translation
into,
for
example,
Spanish
and
undertaking
instead
a
search
for
texts
suitable
for
instructional
purposes
in
underdeveloped
countries
regardless
of
language.
A
great
deal
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