Diffusing Information Technology Education in Korean Undergraduate Public Affairs and Administration Programs: Driving Forces and Challenging Issues

Abstract

Public management information systems has been one of the core subjects in most South Korean undergraduate public affairs and administration programs since the late 1980s. Since the late 1990s, many e-government and various information policy subjects have been rapidly added to the PA curriculum. This paper examines the rapid diffusion of undergraduate-level IT education in Korean PA programs and focuses primarily on the implication of lessons developed in and drawn from Korean PA programs. The authors explain how the PA curriculum has been affected by changes in technologies, socioeconomic contexts, and government policies in South Korea; review the literature of IT education and classify IT courses taught in Korean PA programs; describe data and methods; summarize major findings on IT courses and instructors; examine driving forces behind the diffusion of IT education; and discuss the academic institutional isomorphism and challenging issues in IT education. The paper concludes with several suggestions for IT education in PA programs.