Some Reflections on the Development of Education for Public Administration in Europe

Abstract

The chapter presents an overview about the evolution of the teaching dimension in the academic debate within the EGPA community. Major topics of EGPA’s permanent study group on “PA and teaching” over the last decade are displayed. From a more general perspective, the authors discuss the various types and target groups of academic programs in Public Administration and their change over time. They also shed some light on the change of contents and pedagogical approaches in the last decades. Furthermore, different patterns and degrees of institutionalization of Public Administration as academic discipline across Europe are illustrated. In a short résumé the authors reflect about future educational developments in our field and about the role of EGPA.

Arthur Ringeling and Christoph Reichard are emeritus professors at the Erasmus University Rotterdam and the University of Potsdam, respectively. Both have co-chaired over a long time EGPA’s Permanent Study Group 9 “PA and Teaching”.