The Core Curriculum Content of NASPAA-Accredited Programs: Fundamentally Alike or Different?

Abstract

This paper uses data from National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration accreditation self-study reports to determine the extent to which core curricula focus on the public administration environmental context and professional skills. We develop five hypotheses to examine this focus. Using measures to determine the degree to which course content—as reflected in objectives, topics, and texts—reflects either professional (management and analytical) skills or an environmental (i.e., political, economic, and social) focus, we seek to explain program differences across a set of independent variables (program mission statements, institutional location, additional degrees offered, elective specializations, and faculty characteristics). We find that, although there is not a great deal of variance in the mix of professional skills and environmental context taught in all programs, the differences present may be accounted for by differences in institutional location and faculty characteristics. We also find that programs are generally more focused on professional skills than the characteristics of the faculty teaching in those programs might otherwise indicate.