Sending professors to the field: does faculty-practitioner exchange narrow the theory-practice gap in China’s MPA programs?

ABSTRACT

The field of public administration and policy faces ongoing calls to maintain its relevancy to public sector practice. A variety of innovations have thrived in the recent years, striving to fill the gap between theory and practice. Faculty-practitioner exchange is one such attempt. This study examines the micro dynamics of such exchange in Master of Public Administration (MPA) programs in China where the gap was seen to be particularly wide. Using qualitative methods, this study interviewed 13 faculty instructors in Chinese MPA programs with experience of government engagement. We found that the instructors were predominantly driven by a keen awareness of their weakness in real-world exposure. The government engagement experience boosted their self-efficacy when teaching in-service students, and the empathy developed between instructors and students augmented educational outcomes. The engagement service invigorated pedagogical innovations towards enhanced case teaching conducive to the co-production of practical knowledge with practitioners. The engagement service strengthened the faculty instructors’ awareness of the theory-practice gap and their appreciation of students’ needs. They became more cognizant of the usefulness of various theories and more capable of relating theory to practice.

KEYWORDS:

• Policy education
• practitioner
• pedagogy
• MPA
• China
• public
• administration

Acknowledgments

The authors are very grateful to the following persons for facilitating the interviews: Hong Wen, Wanlei Mao, Na Tang, Xiang Gao, Xuejun Wang, and Bingsheng Liu. Insightful comments from two anonymous reviewers and Professor Anthony B. L. Cheung are highly appreciated. Conflict of interest: None.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. As of December 2021, six MPA programs in Mainland China have been successfully accredited by the NASPAA.

2. Interview #4-Prof L.

3. District refers to the sub-prefectural division of a city.

4. Government engagement constitutes a prerequisite for promotion to associate professorship in Dr U’s university (Interview #9).

5. Interview #6-Prof M.

6. Interview #2-Prof J.

7. This finding reinforces the result reported in a study by He et al. (2016). Their survey of course syllabi collected from leading MPA programs suggests that Chinese programs tend to deploy senior professors to teach MPA students.

8. Interview #6-Prof M.

9. Interview #5-Prof N.

10. Interview #6-Prof M.

11. Interview #4-Prof L.

12. Interview #9-Dr U.

13. Interview #7-Dr Q.

14. Interview #7-Dr Q.

15. Interview #1-Prof P.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Alex Jingwei He

Alex Jingwei He is Associate Head and Associate Professor of the Department of Asian and Public Policy, The Education University of Hong Kong. He earned his PhD degree from the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore.

Peng Liu

Peng Liu is Professor in the School of Public Administration and Policy of Renmin University of China. He obtained his PhD degree from the Department of Government and Public Administration, The Chinese University of Hong Kong.

Fan Yumeng

Yumeng Fan is currently a research assistant at the Department of Asian and Policy Studies, The Education University of Hong Kong. She holds a master’s degree in social policy from the London School Economics.

Hongdou Liu

Hongdou Liu is a Doctor of Education student at the Department of Asian and Policy Studies, The Education University of Hong Kong. She holds a master’s degree in education from Renmin University of China.