Kevin Kecskes

Capacity Building for the Common Good: PSU's Interdisciplinary Minor in Civic Leadership

Since the early 1990s, Portland State University has furthered its commitment to civic engagement education by adopting an integrated approach to its general education curriculum. As an outgrowth to this initiative, the minor in Civic Leadership was developed in 2004-05. This interdisciplinary minor was designed with the intent to further integrate and sustain institutional engagement with the Portland Metropolitan community and beyond. This article discusses the history, structure, and roles of academic and community partners associated with the Civic Leadership minor, and elaborates the philosophical foundation of the interdisciplinary curriculum that aims to build student capacity for the common good.

Making Values Education Real: Exploring the Nexus Between Service Learning and Values Education

In this chapter, the authors argue that the challenge for educators is to devise ways to operationalize values education. They further argue that through the application of service-learning programmes to a values education concept, learning experiences can become both strengthened and sustained. They show how research has shown that service learning contributes to the development of active and informed citizens. Thus, they claim that the service-learning programmes can and usually does become an excellent “delivery mechanism” for values education as a way of enhancing student wellbeing.

Rubrics as a Foundation for Assessing Student Competencies: One Public Administration Program’s Creative Exercise

Abstract Since implementation of the Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration (NASPAA) standards for accreditation in 2009, public administration programs have been developing programmatic competencies that reflect NASPAA’s universal standards. Likewise, myriad efforts have analyzed data related to student and program progress toward achievement of these competencies. This article adds to that conversation by recounting the approach to assessing competencies used in the Department of Public Administration at Portland State University. There, newly developed rubrics reflect each of the department’s 10 competencies to examine whether students are acquiring the desired knowledge and skills. This article discusses the development and design of the rubrics as well as elements of gaining faculty and student input in the process.