Practicing What We Preach: Approaching Praxis through Classroom Governance

Abstract

This article recommends techniques for matching course management practices in graduate public administration programs to the content of the curriculum. In developing these recommendations, I draw on the revolutionary ideals of alternative education for the disenfranchised in society and the equally ambitious goals of recent reform movements in public administration. Both visions assert that improved institutional performance can facilitate positive personal and social transformation. Under the assumption that these aspirations are relevant for the graduate classroom as well, I recommend the application of course management practices based on the principles of transparency, participation, accountability, and responsiveness. These practices can move public affairs education toward praxis—reflexive, active, transformative pedagogy.

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Notes on contributors

Peter J. Balint

Peter J. Balint is assistant professor in the Department of Public and International Affairs at George Mason University. His research focuses on understanding obstacles to success in community-based natural resource management, a policy approach designed to integrate conservation and community development in rural areas of poor countries. He has published articles on this topic in journals including Energy Policy, Environmental Management, Human Dimensions of Wildlife, Geoforum, Society & Natural Resources, and the Journal of Southern African Studies.