Theories About the Role of Theory in Nonprofit and Philanthropic Studies

Abstract

As the nonprofit and philanthropic studies field achieves increased acceptance within colleges and universities, academics within the field must confront a conundrum: Most academics are inclined to develop academic programs that resemble the theory-oriented academic programs in which they were educated; most students who enroll in nonprofit programs, however, are current or future practitioners who are not preparing for—and are unlikely to pursue—academic careers in which theory development is a primary goal. The focus, here, is on two emerging perspectives on the role that theoretical knowledge should play in the nonprofit/philanthropic studies field and the implications of these perspectives for academic program development. One perspective is relatively traditional. The other requires a more radical rethinking of the form and function of theoretical knowledge in applied fields like nonprofit/philanthropic studies and a different approach to university preparation programs than the theory-dissemination approach found in traditional academic programs.