Teaching ethics and values in public administration : are we making a difference?
By: Menzel, Donald C
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ArticlePublisher: malden, MA : Blackwell Publishers, may/june 1997Public administration review: PAR 57, 3, p. 224-230Abstract: This article addresses probably the most important yet least investigated question regarding athics education in graduate degree granting programs in public administration in the united state: what difference does ethics education make in the life and behavior of men and women in pursuit of public service careers? Building on a 1995 survey of NASPAA member schools, the author is able to identify a small number of schools that(a) require MPA students to complete an ethics course, and(b) have had this requeriment in place for at least five years. MPA alumni who graduated (1990-1995) from four participating schools that meet these criteria were surveyed in 1996. The surveye results indicate that ethics education is having a positive influence on the graduates of these programs but that other factor are also influential. Perhaps most importantly, the data suggest that the ethical environment of the educational program must be taken into account in order to obain a more complete understanding of ethics education outcomes.
This article addresses probably the most important yet least investigated question regarding athics education in graduate degree granting programs in public administration in the united state: what difference does ethics education make in the life and behavior of men and women in pursuit of public service careers? Building on a 1995 survey of NASPAA member schools, the author is able to identify a small number of schools that(a) require MPA students to complete an ethics course, and(b) have had this requeriment in place for at least five years. MPA alumni who graduated (1990-1995) from four participating schools that meet these criteria were surveyed in 1996. The surveye results indicate that ethics education is having a positive influence on the graduates of these programs but that other factor are also influential. Perhaps most importantly, the data suggest that the ethical environment of the educational program must be taken into account in order to obain a more complete understanding of ethics education outcomes.
Public administration review PAR
May/June 1997 Volume 57 Number 3
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