Special issue on developing the reflexive public manager

Abstract

Global economic recession alongside the questioning not only of the relationship between state and society but, in some instances, the very idea of public service, poses some very serious questions about the direction, content and process of education programmes for public service professionals. For many, the current context represents a paradigm shift in terms of how we think about and conceptualise the role of the public service professional and their position and responsibilities as leaders and managers, whether at present or to be, within their organisations. It is this context that gives rise to our concern about exploring and debating the role of ''reflection'' and ''reflexivity'' in the education and development of such professionals. This special issue of Teaching Public Administration focuses on the exploration of different ways in which the concept of reflexivity (and the associated notions of ''critical reflection'' and ''reflectivity'') can be deployed in the development of public managers. The overarching argument is that the current context requires public managers to understand and uncover the basis of the assumptions of both their own practice and that of the policies that they are involved in implementing. In this respect, the authors here view the development of reflexivity and the promotion and development of the skills of critical questioning of moral, ideological and theoretical positions as being vital to the enhancement of standards of public management and governance. The issue has been compiled by a group of higher educational specialists in public management from a number of northern European states, facing a range of socioeconomic and political changes. For several years now, the authors have been participants in an annual three-day workshop on Pedagogical Issues in Public Management Programmes for Mid-Career Practitioners-which has been strongly supported by colleagues from business schools and public policy departments of various universities from across Northern Europe. The intellectual, and often the physical, home for these workshops has been Copenhagen Business School (CBS), one of the largest such schools in the world and home to one of the most prestigious Masters in Public Administration (MPA) programmes. It is in recognition of this that the group now calls itself The Copenhagen Forum. Delegates have been drawn from more than twenty different institutions, all of which offer MPAs or similarly public sector-oriented leadership/management development programmes. At the workshops participants have shared their experiences and ideas, led seminars and workshop sessions and/or presented papers on the roles that such programmes can play in public management development. In the spirit established at the outset for our Teaching Public Administration 31(1) 3-5 ª The Author(s) 2013 Reprints and permissions: sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav

Changing times

“…The question of funding for external academic courses which may be viewed as nonessential or even an indulgence is compromised where education and CPD become indirect early and easy victims of the austerity measures. This poses serious questions for public management educators about the direction, content and process of management programmes for public service professionals (Ahmad et al, 2013) and even their very existence, in an underfunded and under resourced sector.…”

“…A key to this is the transformation of approaches to ''teaching'' and learning (Ahmad et al, 2013) on public management programmes, in order to transform practices and organizational behaviour of the leaders of public sector workers, and those deliver public services, particularly in the ever changing and challenging environment. This is evidenced by what students are saying, see Table 3.…”

Another look at research

“…Changing circumstances, global recession along with other external factors -such as changing government policies and legislation, changing labour market demands and requirements and the ongoing effects of austerity measures -question not only the relationship between state and society, but also increasingly in some respects the idea of a public sector. This poses serious questions for public management educators about the direction, content and process of management programmes for public service professionals (Ahmad et al, 2013) and, further, questions their relevance, and even existence, in an under-funded sector. Public sector managers face new risks and challenges every day and have to deal with the difficulties of managing in turbulent and changing times, whilst at the same time having to maintain the credibility and legitimacy of the service(s).…”

“…This situation poses exciting but significant challenges for public management educators in the development and direction of their programmes. One of the key elements in the development of public management programmes is the rethinking of the approach to 'teaching' and learning (Ahmad et al, 2013) combined with the introduction and development of innovative and exciting new learning tools. At the centre of this is the need for reflective practices in order to bring about changes to organisational behaviour and public sector management practices, especially in an ever-challenging public sector environment.…”

Teaching Regulatory Humility: Experimenting with Student Practitioners

“…Creating space for reflection and teaching reflection are enduring preoccupations for MPA instructors (see, e.g. Ahmad et al, 2013;Cunliffe and Jun, 2005). In their recent article, Meer and Marks (2013, p. 42) argue that reflection is an 'essential ingredient in public administration, both for an academic and a professional career'.…”