Public Administration
| Author | Janice McMillan,John Fenwick |
| Date | 01 September 2014 |
| DOI | 10.1177/0144739414522479 |
| Published date | 01 September 2014 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Article
Public Administration:
What is it, why teach
itanddoesitmatter?
John Fenwick
Northumbria University, Newcastle, UK
Janice McMillan
Edinburgh Napier University, Edinburgh, UK
Abstract
What is understood by ‘‘public administration’’ in the contemporary UK higher educa-
tion setting? Is it still being taught and, if so, why? These questions initially appear to be
fairly straightforward but any review of the topic quickly poses some rather more tricky
areas of enquiry. This article will focus upon three central questions. First, some per-
sistent issues surrounding public administration as a field of research and enquiry provide
a problematic startfor any discussion: what is meant academically by public administration
and does it retain any scholarly meaning, or any disciplinary base(s) that warrants its
location in university departments? Is it distinct from public policy and public management
or can it now be wholly subsumed within these more readily understood (and more
marketable) categories? Second, thereare difficult issues around public administration as a
field of practicein a highly turbulent public sectorworld. Public administration(especially in
its received meaning from the continental European tradition) was predicated upon sta-
bility, structure and law. Contemporary UK public administration is built upon flux and
uncertainty. Third, the pedagogic aspects of teaching this elusive area raise significant
additionalissues, compounded by thedifferences between teachinga practitioner audience
of public administrators (perhaps allied to work-based learning delivery) alongside, or in
place of, an academic social or political science audience. Business schools have grown
as the main sitefor such teaching. Differentiated modes of teachinghave proliferated while
the focus of what is taught has grown more elusive. Teaching public administration starts
to look like quite a rich and contested area of academic activity.
Keywords
MPA, Public Administration, public management
Corresponding author:
John Fenwick, Northumbria University, City Campus East, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 8ST, UK.
Email: john.fenwick@northumbria.ac.uk
Teaching Public Administration
2014, Vol. 32(2) 194–204
ªThe Author(s) 2014
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DOI: 10.1177/0144739414522479
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