Enhancing global and intercultural competencies in Master of Public Administration classes

Abstract

In the 21st century Master of Public Administration (MPA) programs need to meet the challenge of preparing public affairs professionals for an increasingly global and interdependent world in which complex social problems often span national boundaries and cultural differences. In that context, various internationalization strategies can be helpful in developing the necessary global, international, and intercultural (GII) competencies that public affairs professionals need. In this paper, we evaluate a model known as Cultures and Languages Across the Curriculum (CLAC) as an internationalization at home tool which may have potential in public affairs programs. We describe the philosophical and pedagogical approach of CLAC, and compare our experiences with three levels of CLAC integration within graduate-level public affairs classes. Based on feedback from students and observations from faculty we are able to offer preliminary assessments on the effectiveness of the CLAC approach in MPA education, and advice for MPA programs and instructors who may be interested in using CLAC to develop GII competencies among their students.