What competencies public policy education promises: A qualitative comparative analysis of university types, education levels, and courses in Turkey

ABSTRACT

Public policy education has rapidly spread among universities worldwide and in Turkey in the last few decades. Despite this spread, it is a question mark what competencies this education promises to future public policy analysts in today’s complex economic, social, and political environment. This study first investigates the rising expectations from public policy analysts based on the relevant literature. Then it employs a comparative content analysis on “course learning outcomes” representing the promises of 151 public policy courses in Turkey’s 72 universities’ political science and public administration departments. The prominent findings indicate big gaps in public policy education in the country, and the literature’s expectations are not fully met in practice. While the neglect of competencies related to evidence-based public policymaking and the use of information technology is a significant hindrance to the development of modern policy analysts, the need for national regulation comes to the fore as a solution.

KEYWORDS:

• Competencies
• outcomes
• public policy education
• qualitative evidence
• Turkey

Disclosure statement

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

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Volkan Göçoğlu

Volkan Göçoğlu is an Associate Professor in Afyon Kocatepe University. His main research interests are public policy, local governments, technology in the public sector, sustainable development, and administrative reforms. He has published articles with these focuses in master journals such as Journal of Asian Public Policy, Lex Localis, and Asia Pacific Journal of Public Administration.

Atahan Demirkol

Atahan Demirkol is currently a Ph.D. candidate and research assistant at Afyon Kocatepe University, Turkey. His main research areas are migration, public policy, and urban politics.