County Governments: “Forgotten” Subjects in Local Government Courses?

Abstract

Revenue, expenditure, and employment data indicate that county governmentsonce taken for granted and playing ''second fiddle'' to municipalities-are playing an increasingly important role (and sometimes a role equal to that of municipalities) as vital service providers. Therefore, one would expect that county governments and municipal governments would receive approximately equal treatment in college and university graduate and undergraduate local government courses. However, a recent survey of college and university faculty who regularly teach local government courses reveals that this is not the case. Moreover, a content analysis of local government textbooks indicates that they are skewed in favor of municipalities. This article reports other findings from this survey that shed light on the reasons for this unequal treatment in the local government classroom and offers suggestions for changing the unbalanced approach to teaching these courses.