journal of public affairs education - NASPAA *The Global Standard ...

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Teaching Public Administration As a Fulbright Scholar In China:Analysis and ReflectionsFigure 2.Number of Fulbright research and lecture scholars in China by field (1992–08)Note: From the Council for International Exchange of Scholars, “Fulbright Scholar Program – ScholarDirectories,” retrieved February 21, 2009, from http://www.cies.org/schlr_directories/.The Chinese Public Administration Society, affiliated with the American Societyfor Public Administration (ASPA) and the National Association of Schools ofPublic Affairs and Administration (NASPAA), supports development of theprofession and field. To help in this effort, several U.S. public administrationtextbooks have been translated into Chinese.RENMIN UNIVERSITY OF CHINA — MPA DEGREE PROGRAMI was matched with Renmin University of China because of my request to bein Beijing, and the school’s status for housing one of China’s top PublicAdministration programs. Renmin means “belonging to the people,” so Renminis the People’s University. Established in 1937, it is an official “keycomprehensive university,” which puts it among the top Chinese universities interms of applications and resources. It enrolls approximately 20,000 students peryear. Renmin University (known as Renda), is located inside a walled campus inthe northwest quadrant of Beijing. The embassy area and most internationalresidents live in the east or northeast, so there are few Westerners on or aroundcampus. As with most Chinese universities, recent economic growth has led tosignificant new construction. Renda is proud of its large, new academic complexthat includes schools of Business, Law, and Journalism, as well as a new athleticfacility. While I was there, construction of a new library also was started.Journal of Public Affairs Education 335
Teaching Public Administration As a Fulbright Scholar In China:Analysis and ReflectionsRenmin University of China was the first to offer the MPA degree, and itsSchool of Public Administration boasts one of the oldest buildings on campus.Its role as a leading MPA program is evidenced by its co-sponsorship of the biannualSino-U.S. Conference on Public Administration, and publication of thejournal Public Administration and Policy Review.The School of Public Administration at Renmin includes three departments:Public Administration, Land and Real Estate Management, and Urban Planningand Management. There also are eight institutes and 10 research centers.Seventy-eight faculty members teach courses for 328 undergraduates, 818 MPAstudents, 414 graduate students in other degrees, and 134 Ph.D. students — infull-time, part-time, and executive programs (School of Public Administration,Renmin University of China, n.d.).MPA CurriculumLike many MPA programs in the U.S., Renmin University of China offersboth full-time and executive MPA programs. The full-time program offers a 40-credit-hour curriculum that looks much like American MPA programs. Itincludes 30 credits of core courses, 10 credits of electives, and a requiredresearch paper, for a degree that generally takes two to four years to complete.The titles of MPA courses are very familiar, including, for example, PublicManagement, Public Policy Analysis, Research Methods, Practical Economics,and Public Finance (School of Public Administration, Renmin University ofChina, n.d.). However, core requirements seemed to be interpreted with someflexibility in China. For example, while Program Evaluation is listed as anelective, when I was there the students were told it was required.Another major difference I noted is that students told me they were takingbetween seven and 11 courses per semester. Seven core courses were standardduring the first semester, and if students wanted to take electives, those were inaddition to core courses. It appeared that the students front-loaded theirprograms so they could devote more focused time on the major research paperrequirement later in the program.I was teaching full-time students, who all lived on campus. They wereassigned together to dorm rooms of three to four students each. As a result,another difference I noticed was a stronger sense of community and camaraderiethan one would see in most U.S. programs.OVERVIEW OF TEACHINGFulbright lecturers typically teach two courses per semester. I taught arequired Program Evaluation course for MPA students, and an elective onHealth Policy that was open to graduate students from across the campus. Thefollowing discussion focuses on the Program Evaluation core course.Twenty-nine, first-semester MPA students registered for Program Evaluation,336 Journal of Public Affairs Education
Page 1 and 2:
Summer 2009 Volume 15, No. 3JPAEJOU
Page 5 and 6:
the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh
Page 7 and 8:
Public Values As aCore Element of N
Page 9 and 10:
Public Values as a Core Element of
Page 11 and 12:
Page 13 and 14:
Page 15 and 16:
How Do We Know What They Know?Evalu
Page 17 and 18:
Page 19 and 20:
Page 21 and 22:
Page 23 and 24:
Page 25 and 26:
Page 27 and 28: How Do We Know What They Know?Evalu
Page 33 and 34: Enhancing Professional Socializatio
Page 61 and 62: Staying Connected: MPA StudentPerce
Page 63 and 64: Staying Connected: MPA Student Perc
Page 77: Teaching Public Administration As a
Page 81 and 82: Teaching Public Administration As a
Page 91 and 92: Badgers & Hoosiers:An Interstate Co
Page 93 and 94: Badgers & Hoosiers: An Interstate C
Page 103 and 104: Operation PSA: The Action Learningo
Page 105 and 106: Operation PSA: The Action Learning
Page 125 and 126: Introduction of Government ProcessM
Page 127 and 128: Introduction of Government Process
Page 129 and 130:
Introduction of Government Process
Page 131 and 132:
Page 133 and 134:
Page 135 and 136:
Page 137 and 138:
show all

journal of public affairs education - NASPAA *The Global Standard ...

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?