Public Administration Education and Professional Practice in Romania: Exploring Students’ Perceptions

Octavian Moldovan,Horia Mihai Raboca

doi:10.24193/tras.57e.5

Abstract

During professional practice stages students use the skills and knowledge previously acquired via formal classes, create networks, find mentors, enter into contact with citizens and their problems and obtain much needed professional experience, while simultaneously improving their theoretical knowledge and skills as a result of working side by side with practitioners in host organizations. As such, the main goal of this paper is to provide a general overview of professional practice in Romanian public administration education by looking at the undergraduate students’ satisfaction regarding the practicum stage in different host institutions. The data (N = 89) collected from undergraduate students in a public administration program allows us to explore: their satisfaction with different aspects of professional practice (ranging from resources to new knowledge acquired), the strengths and weaknesses of practicum, the perceived utility of such activities and potential improvement measures. Going further than a simple descriptive analysis, our data also shows that the perceived benefits of professional practice can be reduced to two latent classes of utilities/benefits: those related to the new skills and knowledge acquired and the interactions with practitioners and citizens.

Highlights

Universities and faculties/departments which offer public administration (PA from here on) programs often promote increasing the employability of graduates as a long term strategic goal, but most efforts focus on improving or updating the curricula, strategic partnerships, dual accreditation, new teaching methods, e-learning and so on, while ignoring the more hands-on approach, namely professional practice or practicum
The main goal of this paper is to provide a general overview of professional practice in Romanian public administration education by looking at the undergraduate students’ satisfaction regarding the practicum stage in different host institutions
The most important weaknesses or shortcomings of practicum identified by students during their experience refer to the lack of mentoring relationships, the fact they were involved in too many simple and repetitive tasks and activities that were not relevant for their education or professional development and the reluctance of host organizations to involve them in core activities or in solving different problems faced by employees (Table 7)

Summary

Introduction

Universities and faculties/departments which offer public administration (PA from here on) programs often promote increasing the employability of graduates as a long term strategic goal, but most efforts (both practical and academic) focus on improving or updating the curricula, strategic partnerships, dual accreditation, new teaching methods, e-learning and so on, while ignoring the more hands-on approach, namely professional practice or practicum. Practicum in PA was connected with improvements in policy analysis and general professional skills and the practicum experience can be used to assist students in decisions regarding their career, while the skills and competences obtained during the practicum tend to have a transversal nature and apply in different professional fields (Sprague and Percy, 2014). The aim of this exploratory research[1] is to provide a general overview of professional practice in Romanian PA education by looking at undergraduate students’ experiences with different host institutions during the practicum stage.

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Conclusion