Public administration higher education in Lebanon: An investigation into the substance of advertised courses

ABSTRACT

This article examines public administration education in Lebanon. Using data collected from university course catalogues, the article considers the extent to which advertised public administration courses address topics and competencies associated with NASPAA’s curricular guidelines and the seven principles of New Public Service. Using data collected from focus groups comprised of students and professionals, the article also reviews several themes related to the state of public administration in Lebanon. Although Lebanon’s institutions of higher education are involved in public administration education, the findings reveal gaps in the curriculum related to human resource management, information and technology management, program evaluation, ethics and accountability, research methods, decision-making, citizenship, and community engagement. The findings also reveal insufficient coverage of Lebanon’s bureaucracy, and more broadly, a mismatch between the content of the advertised courses and the challenges that exist within Lebanon’s bureaucracy. The article considers several recommendations that explore how public administration higher education in Lebanon might be strengthened.

KEYWORDS:

• Core competencies
• curriculum
• public administration education
• Republic of Lebanon

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Thomas W. Haase

Thomas W. Haase is an assistant professor of public administration at Sam Houston State University. His research focuses on public administration in non-western contexts, community resilience, and disaster management.

Tania Haddad is an assistant professor of public administration at the American University of Beirut. Her research focuses on public administration education in Lebanon, nonprofit organizations, and civil society.

Noura El-Badri earned her Masters of Public Administration from the Department of Political Studies and Public Administration at the American University of Beirut. She is currently employed as a Regulatory Compliance Officer with the National Bank of Kuwait.