Maja Husar Holmes

From theory to practice: utilizing integrative seminars as bookends to the Master of Public Administration program of study

Integrative seminar style courses are most often used as an application-oriented capstone in place of a thesis or comprehensive exam requirement in Master of Public Administration (MPA) degree programs. This article describes and discusses the benefits of a unique approach of one National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration (NASPAA)–accredited U.S. MPA program that employs integrative seminar style courses at both the start and end of the program of study. The first seminar integrates theory while the last seminar integrates practice, while both utilize reflection as a synthesizing pedagogy. The other core courses in the program of study use distinct theories to analyze practice while building core competencies. This article explores the importance of theory in a professional degree program, describes and explains both integrative seminars, and discusses the value fostered by the pattern of synthesis-analysis-synthesis facilitated through integrative seminars and reflective pedagogies.

Validating the relevance of leadership in public administration

The pillars of public administration rest on balancing the triumvirate of traditions, managerial, political, and legal, in developing and implementing public policy. The normative concept of leadership has consistently surfaced as an important dimension in the policy process. However, scholarship exploring the importance and relevance of leadership in public administration has been sporadic and limited in scope. This article elucidates the disconnect between the study of leadership and public administration. To validate the relevance of leadership in public administration, future empirical studies must embrace the long-view, heuristic inquiry, and the lifecycle of leadership.

Evidence-Based Interventions for Cultural Competency Development Within Public Institutions:

Cultural competency is critical to ensuring responsive public services. This article asks how we might develop individual cultural competency in a meaningful way, including which interventions are effective in enhancing cultural competence of experienced public employees. We examine the impact of targeted interventions on the development of individual public administrator cultural competence using a survey developed by Longoria and Rangarajan. The findings suggest the importance of understanding cultural competency as a developmental process that requires attention to the multidimensional aspects (knowledge, skills, attitudes, and behaviors) of cultural competency and developing training that reflects these realities.

Modeling Team-Development Lifecycle in Public Administration Courses

Abstract During the course of their academic experience, public administration students are expected to work as teams in order to complete projects and embrace a team-based philosophy for addressing public needs. Traditional team-development pedagogy omits a critical piece for future public administrators – developing team-development skills and competence through explicit reflection, modeling, and analysis of the team-development lifecycle. This paper demonstrates how modeling the team development lifecycle within a course setting — forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning (Tuckman, 1965; Tuckman & Jensen, 1977) — encourages students to explore the team-development process, and to experience and reflect on corresponding emotional and behavioral responses at the various team-development stages. By explicitly modeling the strategies in the context of an entire class serving as a single team, students develop a greater confidence and competence to engage future team-development opportunities. This article (a) articulates a strategy for how to model the team-development lifecycle in public administration courses, (b) identifies anticipated affective responses, and (c) offers examples of lessons learned, so that instructors can apply this pedagogical approach.