Embedding cultural competence and racial justice in public administration programs

Teaching diversity, cultural competency, and globalization to American public affairs students: Integrating comparative approaches to public administration and policy

“…Educating students to think critically and analytically while learning how to apply public service values provides a foundation for them to succeed in unfamiliar environments, where a lack of cultural awareness or understanding of diversity may otherwise hamper both individual and organizational progress (Ragin, 1987;Rubaii et al, 2014;Harper, 2018). Blessett specifically argues that public administrators who work with marginalized groups must have an understanding of concepts relating to injustice, disparity, and inequity, and respond effectively to existing trends in diversity in society (Blessett, 2018). Individual and group exercises in the classroom continue to represent a powerful means for promoting discourse with students, allowing for them to challenge preexisting biases, reflect on how important social and political issues are framed, and expand their perspectives by being indoctrinated to modern public administration value structures.…”

“…Online and physical classroom discussions and interaction help introduce students to working with diverse populations, and when effectively moderated by the instructor, facilitate positive communication of potentially controversial topics where they engage in reflective exercises as a facet of critical thinking that challenges preexisting ideas and aids in expanding their perspectives to better understand other cultures. The benefits of enhanced student awareness through learning are significant, as discussed above, with Blessett's work on race-conscious dialogues (Blessett, 2018) and Jensen and Butz's use of internet-assisted tools providing reinforcing evidence (Jensen and Butz, 2018).…”

Eric Foner, The Second Founding: How the Civil War and Reconstruction Remade the Constitution (New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2019). 256 pp. $26.95 (Hardcover), ISBN: 978‐0‐393‐65257‐4

“…Public administration scholars and educators will find that The Second Founding investigates a timely issue: the reconciliation of constitutional values with inherent inequities and paradoxes defended and practiced in our nation historically and at present. This book, read alongside classic texts of public administration, allows for consideration of counternarratives, which consider socioeconomic, political, racial, and historical factors more fully (Blessett 2018). It adds to the Constitutional School's call to develop a richer form of scholarship and research derived from deep understanding of constitutional principles (Newbold 2010).…”