Mid-Career MPA Students

Abstract

I thoroughly enjoyed Mid-Career Students in MPA Programs: Implications for Pre-Service Student Education, by Robert F. Durant and William A. Taggart, which appeared in Public Administration Review, 45 (1985), 2. Although the authors raised some very informative and provocative points to ponder, I wonder if their methodology might have undermined the validity of the statistical data. Specifically, why did the authors opt to ignore military service as full-time public employment for classification purposes? In order to make a valid determination concerning the mid-career status of service personnel, it would seem that one would have to consider the individual's rank and years of service. The variables normally combine to determine the level of responsibility and the tasks performed. It would also seem that the level of responsibility and the tasks performed, not the organization by which employed, would be the valid factors for determining mid-career status. Was the baby thrown out with the bath water?