Teaching Leadership in Public Administration

Graduates of public administration programs regularly find themselves in roles accorded substantial responsibility and authority. It is therefore crucial that these programs provide effective instruction that helps students develop leadership skills and attributes. The dilemma is that leadership concepts are not susceptible to traditional didactic instructional approaches, which are cognitively based. Leadership learning is best accomplished in the affective and behavioral domains as well as in the cognitive. We present a pedagogical model that we believe is more appropriate for teaching leadership in public administration, public policy, and public affairs. This model marries the key competencies of effective leaders with suitable teaching orientations. We illustrate how this model may be applied by describing a graduate leadership course we have developed and taught.