Answering the call: Offering and analyzing civil discourse opportunities in undergraduate public affairs education

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Author(s)Barnes, Philip
Author(s)Morris, Michael P.
Author(s)Pierce, Andrea L.
Author(s)Shaffer, Timothy J.
Date Accessioned2023-02-10T15:16:21Z
Date Available2023-02-10T15:16:21Z
Publication Date2022-12-06
DescriptionThis article was originally published in Journal of Public Affairs Education. The version of record is available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/15236803.2022.2148604
AbstractThe widening cracks in the foundations of American democracy are leading to appeals for higher educational institutions generally, and public affairs programs specifically, to offer more courses on civil discourse. In this paper, we conduct a curriculum scan to evaluate the extent to which public affairs programs have answered these calls at the undergraduate level. The findings indicate that civil discourse-themed courses are essentially absent in the largest undergraduate public affairs programs, leaving the calls woefully unanswered. Then, analyzing students’ pre-post survey responses from a new course that offered content on the intersection of civil discourse and public policy making, we find that a civil discourse-themed course can simultaneously answer the calls and ensure that students meet the objectives of baccalaureate public affairs education recommended by the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration. The results are encouraging for public affairs education and democratic governance alike.
SponsorThe Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) provided funding to create the SNF Ithaca Initiative at the Biden School of Public Policy and Administration at the University of Delaware. The authors would like to thank Rose Muravchick for her insights on the research design, and the anonymous reviewers for their productive comments and feedback.
CitationPhilip Barnes, Michael P. Morris, Andrea L. Pierce & Timothy J. Shaffer (2022) Answering the call: Offering and analyzing civil discourse opportunities in undergraduate public affairs education, Journal of Public Affairs Education, DOI: 10.1080/15236803.2022.2148604
ISSN2328-9643
URLhttps://udspace.udel.edu/handle/19716/32265
Languageen_US
PublisherJournal of Public Affairs Education
Keywordscitizenship
Keywordscivil discourse
Keywordsdemocracy
Keywordspublic affairs
Keywordsundergraduate education
TitleAnswering the call: Offering and analyzing civil discourse opportunities in undergraduate public affairs education
TypeArticle
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