A new agenda for teaching public administration and public policy in Brazil

Abstract

This article discusses the reasons and teaching objectives of an array of new undergraduate courses on public administration and public policy management which have emerged recently in Brazil. While in 2001 there were only two undergraduate courses teaching formal public administration in the country, by 2015, they had risen to 40, and also included more diverse but related courses, such as public policy management, public management, public policy, and other similar ones. If one adds to this figure, distance education, and technological undergraduate courses, the total courses in these areas in Brazil amount to approximately 130 and an estimate of 25,600 students’ enrolments. All these courses are understood as belonging to the same field of knowledge, a statement made public by a national movement of professors, course coordinators, and students that stated the specificities and identity of this field of knowledge. This group became known as “The Public Field” movement, declaring the need for training students and future practitioners or academics within courses that are concerned with the public interest and democratic, and ethical governments. The discussion in the article focuses on two main aspects. First, the institutional and political reasons that opened a “window of opportunity” for these courses to emerge in Brazil. Second, the pedagogical objectives of these courses are discussed, and two experiences of innovative teaching in two Brazilian universities are presented as an example of the training objectives these courses are trying to achieve.