Bridging theory and administrative practice : the role of a capstone course in P.A. programs
By: REID, Margaret
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Contributor(s): MILLER, Will.
Material type: 
ArticlePublisher: New York : Marcel Dekker, 1997International Journal of Public Administration - IJPA 20, 10, p. 1769-1789Abstract: Public administration programs, like all professional programs, offer a unique opportunity to provide a truly integrative educational experience. Yet the attempt to marry theory and practice often proves to be a difficult task for many academic programs. If a program aspires, as most do, to prepare students for the challenges they will encounter in their professional careers, then programs must strive to make instructional methods relevant to the student's future professional experiences. In the following discussion we center our analyses on the use of a capstone course to accomplish this goal. Abstract: We begin with some normative questions that inform our discussion. We then proceed with an exploration of the literature which includes a general description of the rationale and content of the capstone courses offered in many programs. We will report the findings of an exploratory survey we conducted to develop a sense of the current practice. Because the great diversity of P.A. programs makes generalizations difficult, we use the survey as a guide to suggest how a capstone course could most beneficially be incorporated into specific types of programs.
Public administration programs, like all professional programs, offer a unique opportunity to provide a truly integrative educational experience. Yet the attempt to marry theory and practice often proves to be a difficult task for many academic programs. If a program aspires, as most do, to prepare students for the challenges they will encounter in their professional careers, then programs must strive to make instructional methods relevant to the student's future professional experiences. In the following discussion we center our analyses on the use of a capstone course to accomplish this goal.
We begin with some normative questions that inform our discussion. We then proceed with an exploration of the literature which includes a general description of the rationale and content of the capstone courses offered in many programs. We will report the findings of an exploratory survey we conducted to develop a sense of the current practice. Because the great diversity of P.A. programs makes generalizations difficult, we use the survey as a guide to suggest how a capstone course could most beneficially be incorporated into specific types of programs.
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