A Behind the Scenes look at PUBA 709 (Foundations of Public Administration)

By Dr. Obed Pasha

PUBA 709 is often one of the first courses students take when they join the MPA program at UNC. Dr. Pasha decided to take us on a tour of 709 – a deep dive into how UNC MPA faculty members develop and teach the course and it’s importance in preparing public service leaders.

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Theory Primer Approach to Teach Foundations of Public Administration 

Defining the “foundations” of Public Administration (PA) is challenging due to the varying interpretations among PA scholars of what that concept means. In this blog, we outline the different approaches and why a ‘primer’ approach has the greatest appeal for the UNC SOG (School of Government) MPA (Master of Public Administration) program.  

The Traditional Approach 

Some MPA programs take a classical approach and teach Foundations of PA around historical figures like President Woodrow Wilson and political economist Max Weber, who both wrote about the public sector having a distinct approach to management, administration, and bureaucracy. The benefit of this approach is the same as you would find with many things that are ‘traditional’ – it is well known, accepted by a long string of academics, based on thoughts going way back (Weber became a professor in 1896). The downside is that the reality of modern public management is much less ‘bureaucratic’ and hierarchical than it was during the times these theories and concepts were put forward.  

The Topic Area Approach 

Another approach to teaching this course is to an eclectic mix of topics such as leadership, human resources, and budgeting – subject areas that students will encounter in required courses during their MPA studies. This approach prepares students at the beginning of their studies for the more in-depth topic area-specific courses they will encounter in more advanced classes.  On the flip-side, however, while there is merit in teaching the foundations course this way, it may also be a missed opportunity to engage students more deeply in conversations about the validity and reliability of the public administration theory literature. There is only so much class time, and can we introduce topic areas sufficiently to make this a worthwhile exercise? 

The Theory Primer Approach 

The School of Government built Foundations of Public Administration course based on a third approach – a Theory Primer. This approach introduces students to a host of essential public administration theories needed for a deep understanding of public administration. There are several benefits of this approach: 

• Getting to the Root Cause: Theories help us comprehend the ‘why’ behind what we see on the surface. For instance, we learn why public employees go the extra mile to assist people (public service motivation and street-level bureaucracy theories) or find ways to circumvent authority (principal-agent theory). 

• Simplifying Complexities: Theories simplify complex phenomena by distilling them to their fundamentals. For example, social construction theory explains how public services are sometimes designed to favor one social group over another. 

• Critical Thinking: Theories enable critical thinking about prevailing assumptions. One theory may challenge another. Rational choice theory may not fit with Bounded Rational Choice Theory. Is the politics-administration connection a duality or dichotomy relationship? Exploring these contrasts (or alignments) can break down our beliefs and suppositions and make room for innovative ideas to develop. 

• Solution Searching: Theories guide us in effectively solving real-world problems and advancing our collective goals and aspirations. For instance, the concept of Administrative Burden offers strategies for removing barriers that prevent populations from accessing public services, and the theory of Network Governance provides solutions for addressing complex public problems. 

The Challenge 

The main challenge with the theory primer approach to teaching Foundations of PA is to integrate theory into a practice-based program. The MPA degree is designed to prepare public service practitioners who apply their knowledge and skills to enhance governance (as stated in our Mission Statement). Consequently, convincing students to commence their MPA journey by learning about public service theories and ideas, rather than acquiring applied practical skills, can be challenging. For example, discussions around public service ethics may appear overly broad and philosophical, while those on Incrementalism and the Garbage Can model may seem irrelevant and unnecessary 

The Solution 

To bridge the theory-practice gap and underscore the importance of theory in becoming a more effective practitioner, we employed the following four strategies: 

• Problem-Oriented Memos: We crafted three memos, each presenting a real-world problem for students to solve using theoretical insights. For instance, one memo outlined a scenario detailing water quality issue in an area. Students were tasked with applying networking theories to address this issue. Solutions are not judged as right or wrong, provided they are grounded in a robust understanding of theory. 

• Organizational Analysis: For this group assignment, students were asked to select any four of the twelve theories from the syllabus and elaborate on how those theories apply to a public service organization of their choice. Students conducted interviews with organizational leaders and reviewed their websites and documents, such as strategic plans, to discuss how the theoretical expectations manifested in the organization. 

• Guest Speakers: Inviting practitioners to the class to interact with the students proved to be the most effective and popular method for connecting theory and practice. We invited public service leaders every week to respond to specific questions based on the topic of the day. For example, during Public Service Motivation week, Rachel Raper (elections Administrator, Orange County) shared her personal journey and motivations. Similarly, Chelsea Laws (Director, Building and Development Services, Chapel Hill) discussed her decision-making process during the week we explored decision-making theories.  

• Practitioner Panels: We hosted three practitioner panels in this class. The first panel comprised a police chief, a captain, a lieutenant and a patrol officer from four different communities, which reinforced learning on street-level bureaucracy and principal-agent theories. Another panel assembled five MPA program alumni to discuss their career paths in federal, state, local, nonprofit, and private sectors. The third panel included federal, state, local, and nonprofit partners involved in providing summer meals to children in North Carolina.  

In discussing theories, students learn that individual theoretical models are often insufficient to fully understand complex practical phenomena. Once applied in practice, the models work together or in some places in opposition to each other. Nevertheless, they provide invaluable insights to astute practitioners in better understanding these phenomena and searching for their solutions, and cross-cutting theoretical models.