EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING

Many contemporary scholars have made a strong case for experiential learning as a means by which to supplement traditional classroom experiences (Brown and Behrman Reference Brown and Behrman2008; Kolb Reference Kolb1984; Mitchell and Poutiatine Reference Mitchell and Poutiatine2001; Schettler Reference Schettler2002). Brown and Behrman (2008, 585) asserted, “Today’s student body is older than in the past, with many students already having had substantial ‘real-world’ experience; thus, this approach [i.e., traditional classroom lecture] may no longer be so suitable.” An argument may be made that pre-service students who lack hands-on experience are those most in need of experiential-learning opportunities. Regardless, experiential learning has become a popular approach to public-administration education (Bushouse and Morrison Reference Bushouse and Morrison2001; Imperial, Perry, and Katula Reference Imperial, Perry and Katula2007; Whitaker Reference Whitaker2004).

Bushouse and Morrison (Reference Bushouse and Morrison2001) proposed that service learning can enrich the practicum (or capstone) experience for MPA students in applicable programs. The practicum alone is not synonymous with service learning in this model but rather augments a student’s capstone experience. This is not unique to public affairs and administration programs. The positive influence of service learning has been seen in graduate business (Andrews Reference Andrews2007; Wittmer Reference Wittmer2004), nursing (Cohen and Milone-Nuzzo Reference Cohen and Milone-Nuzzo2001), engineering (Mostafavi et al. Reference Mostafavi, Huff, Abraham, Oakes and Zoltowski2013), and information-systems programs (Hoxmeier and Lenk Reference Hoxmeier and Lenk2003). Community-oriented service learning serves to further develop the practical skills developed in these specialized fields of study. This approach does not eliminate traditional classroom education but instead supplements it, in what Mitchell and Poutiatine (2001, 180; cited in Brown and Behrman Reference Brown and Behrman2008) called a “process of doing, observing, thinking, and reflecting.”

Two experiential-learning techniques recently have become prominent in public-administration education: internship and service learning requirements. A 2010 survey of MPA programs conducted by the national accrediting body—the Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration (NASPAA)—revealed that 93% of MPA programs offer an internship program to their students, although not all require it (NASPAA 2010). However, NASPAA (2003) is rather hands-off with regard to oversight of internships in accredited MPA programs, providing yet another reason to further study the benefits. Service learning represents a relatively new addition to public-administration experiential learning, which NASPAA standards have not yet addressed.

Imperial, Perry, and Katula (Reference Imperial, Perry and Katula2007) pointed to 1990 as the beginning of a groundswell of citizen-service literature. This date coincides with the widespread incorporation of service learning opportunities in MPA programs across the country. Our in-depth discussion of internships and service learning opportunities in NASPAA-accredited MPA programs begins by examining the similarities and differences in the two methods of experiential learning. Table 1 is a comparison of the internship and the service learning approaches, illustrating that the former may be viewed as more student-oriented whereas service learning projects have a unique community benefit. We continue by exploring these similarities and differences in greater depth before suggesting a complementary relationship in MPA curricula.

Table 1

Internships versus Service Learning in MPA Programs

A CASE FOR COMPLEMENTARITY

Internship and service learning opportunities, if not requirements, should coexist because there are benefits unique to each. Internships typically offer more immersion in workplace scenarios by virtue of requiring more hours of the student. However, service learning projects provide more focus on one particular issue facing a government agency or nonprofit organization. Internships often are conducted solo, which provides additional one-on-one interaction between a student and a professional mentor. Conversely, service learning projects trend toward group work (Brown and Behrman Reference Brown and Behrman2008). Perhaps the most substantial difference between internships and service learning projects is the classroom component and the inherent divide between pre-service and in-service students. Without the common experience provided through service learning, an internship requirement lacks the opportunity for all students to learn from one another based on their experiences in similar experiential-learning scenarios. Service learning projects are typically requirements of particular courses rather than the program as a whole. For example, a service learning project in a nonprofit management course may require students to work in groups of three to five for a participating nonprofit organization, for a specific number of hours, on a specific issue, during a particular semester. Those groups likely will consist of a mixture of pre-service and in-service students—working, learning, and immersing themselves in application together. This provides for a different immersive learning experience and allows for classroom discussion based on not only similar but often shared experiences.

Experiential learning appears to be tailor-made for public-administration education. The relationship between internships and service learning is an applied example of Svara’s (Reference Svara2001) complementarity in which “…parts [that] come together in a mutually supportive way” (179). Therefore, the relationship between internships and service learning allows “one [to fill] out another to create a whole” (Svara Reference Svara2001, 179). We believe this provides MPA programs four main benefits: (1) further involvement of pre-service and in-service students, (2) additional exposure to real-life application of course concepts, (3) better targeted classroom reinforcement mechanisms, and (4) additional community benefit.

The theory of complementarity most typically is applied to the relationship between elected officials and government administrators (Svara Reference Svara1999). The theory relies on the existence of three factors: interdependency, reciprocal influence, and extensive interaction (i.e., between elected officials and administrators) (Svara Reference Svara1999, Reference Svara2006). We argue that these three factors are necessary for internships and service learning to provide the greatest benefit possible to students and communities associated with MPA programs. The differences illustrated in table 1 should not be viewed as reasons to use only one of the two experiential-learning methods. Rather, the interdependency of the two is important. Whereas internships provide individual students with greater immersion outside of the classroom setting, service learning requirements within MPA classes allow students to work with others to provide unique, focused benefits for community organizations. The two approaches can lead to reciprocal influence as well. Whether the internship experience precedes service learning or vice versa, lessons learned as a result of one can strengthen a student’s experience in the other—even though one experience, by definition, must come first. For example, students who first participate in an internship can use their experiences working for a community organization in a service learning project. Also, their service learning experiences may prompt a more in-depth reflection about the internship experience, resulting in continued learning from the time-limited internship. Finally, the responsibility of the “extensive-interaction” component of complementarity advanced by Svara (Reference Svara1999, Reference Svara2006) rests with the MPA program and its faculty. Because internship and service learning are integrated into MPA curricula, it is incumbent on faculty to ensure that these experiential-learning techniques inform one another. This is a forced interaction by the faculty but necessary if the benefits of both approaches are to be fully realized.

MPA programs face the double-edged sword of appealing to a wide range of students, particularly with regard to incorporating experiential learning into their curricula. Pre-service students often show great interest in internships as professional-development and experience- building tools (McCaffery Reference McCaffery1979). In-service students may find these experiences redundant or may be excused from them by their program guidelines. Recent findings indicate that an increasing number of in-service students are interested in public administration. That segment of MPA students in the United States challenges traditional models and places changing demands on MPA curricula (Holmes Reference Holmes2012). This changing pre-service and in-service gap may benefit from the implementation of service learning in particular courses. Service learning projects allow pre-service and in-service students to work together in an experiential-learning environment. These projects provide class credit, community benefit, additional opportunities for networking, and the ability to apply course concepts in a focused manner. They often require a shorter time commitment of students, which is particularly appealing to in-service students. The greatest benefit in narrowing the pre-service and in-service gap may be the opportunity for students to learn from one another as they reflect on their common service learning experiences, participate in discussions with classmates and instructors, and ultimately make practical connections between core course material and application in their sponsor organization.

A second benefit of using both internships and service learning in MPA programs is that students are afforded additional opportunities to witness the application of public-administration concepts. In a field of study characterized by action, implementation, and administration, students can benefit greatly from additional experiential learning. Whereas internships require a greater time commitment of students, service learning projects often are targeted and focused. In some ways, service learning projects can serve as “mini-internships” by allowing students to work for a sponsor organization alongside a professional mentor but focusing on a particular subset of public-administration concepts for a shorter period. This additional exposure to application scenarios provides students diversity in experiences of witnessing the inner workings of public and nonprofit organizations. Students also can broaden their professional networks and experience different work environments through internships and service learning, a benefit to both pre-service and in-service students.

Whereas most NASPAA-accredited MPA programs at least offer if not require an internship experience, service learning is a relatively recent approach to experiential learning in public administration. Programs that adapt service learning components to MPA courses achieve a greater level of complementarity and enhance their ability to offer targeted, focused reinforcement of classroom concepts and even internship experiences. Public administration is a field composed of several subfields: public management, budgeting, nonprofit management, health care administration, and so on. Service learning projects typically are assigned in subfield courses and allow faculty and students to tailor experiential learning to subfield-level concepts and theories. To a certain extent, internships also provide this; however, service learning opportunities often allow students to further engage and deepen their immersion in subfield-specific scenarios. A nonprofit-management student may develop a fundraising plan for a local nonprofit organization. A health-care administration student may work with a professional mentor to review how changes in health policy affect a local hospital. The nature of service learning adjusts the lens of experiential learning and complements the often broader work experience of an internship in a way that can be highly beneficial to an MPA student with more targeted and specific interests within public administration. This interdependency, reciprocal influence, and interaction comprise an application of Svara’s (Reference Svara1999, Reference Svara2001, Reference Svara2006) complementarity model, and it is a primary reason that internships and service learning requirements not only could but should exist in MPA programs.

A final advantage of complementarity among internship and service learning requirements is additional community benefit. As MPA programs (and universities) seek to further engage and serve their communities, additional experiential-learning avenues meet that objective. Internships offer community benefit in much the same way as service learning projects—they provide free or low-cost graduate assistance to public and nonprofit organizations in exchange for playing a substantial role in a student’s experiential learning. Adding service learning to the traditional internship approach only increases these opportunities for MPA programs and their students to impact and interact with the community in a meaningful way. Experiential-learning requirements also provide additional opportunities for public and nonprofit organizations to play a role in training potential future employees.

Although internship requirements and opportunities may appear to address experiential learning on the proverbial MPA curriculum checklist, there is room for the service learning approach as well. Because some graduate programs may not be the appropriate setting for a complementary relationship between internships and service learning, public-administration education is a result of its highly applied nature. As we seek to train current and future administrators in the theories and management techniques of public administration, additional experiential learning further accomplishes the kinesthetic reinforcement of these academic concepts and can train more well-rounded administrators, managers, and analysts. Students develop a greater appreciation of the complexity of public management by sharing unique professional perspectives on common experiences.