Twinned careers: Public sector practitioners in public administration teaching and research

Abstract

Scholarship in Canadian public administration programs takes many forms. One of these is the contribution made by practitioners. Yet very little is known about this group and, with the exception of Kenneth Kernaghan's articles, there is little Canadian literature on practitioner‐scholars. Taking Kernaghan's work as a starting point, we explore the contribution of practitioner‐scholars and shed light on their background and contribution to public administration scholarship. Our study finds that practitioner‐scholars are well‐qualified and engaged public administration professionals whose contribution is much broader than that first described by Kernaghan.

MPA/MPP programmes and the future of work: Does MPA curriculum align with civil service requirements

“…However, the orientation of these programmes towards ‘professional careers in government’ suggests the need for some degree of correspondence between the MPA/MPP curriculum and the profession of government. In this regard, it is useful to recall the history of Canadian public administration as an academic discipline that arose out of the desire to train individuals for careers in government (O’Neill and Wilkins, 2018; Wilson, 1997).…”

Public servants’ appreciation for themes in public administration scholarship

“…Others point out that practitioners can equally author sophisticated scholarship (Wettenhall : 191). Many of the practitioners involved at CAPPA‐affiliated schools reported being active researchers (O’Neill and Wilkins ). Likewise, authors have argued that the gap between practitioners and academics is small in Canada (Kernaghan ; Gow and Wilson ), and that prominent Canadian academics are able to point out the practical repercussions of their studies (Borins ).…”