Does Public Administration Education Make a Difference? A Study on Job Confidence and Public Service Motivation of New Functionaries
Chaomeng J. Huang, Hsiu-Chuan Yen *
Abstract
Public administration education is intended to cultivate professional public functionaries. Nevertheless, neither the recruitment tests nor the selection criteria for government employees in Taiwan have taken into consideration the applicants’ background in public administration education. It seems to imply that the administrative work of the government is so simple that it is not deemed necessary to require a formal education in public administration. Is public administration a professional job that takes a long training to do? Or is it just a common sense work of which most people can become fully competent with a minimum level of training?
This study looks at the impacts of public administration education on the professional confidence and public service motivation of a group of government workers in Taiwan who had just passed the civil service entrance examinations and were receiving orientation training during this study. The results of this research confirm the positive influences of public administration education on their technical knowledge and job confidence. On the other hand, however, public administration education does not seem to have the predicted effects on their public service motivation, except for raising their interest in the public sector. Finally, this paper provides several policy recommendations on public administration education as well as on the recruitment, training and employment of public servants.
Keywords: public administration education, civil service examination, public service motivation (PSM), professional confidence, job attitude
* Chaomeng J. Huang, Professor, Department of Public Administration and Policy, National Taipei University, e-mail: chaomeng@mail.ntpu.edu.tw; Hsiu-Chuan Yen, Executive Officer of Civil Service Protection and Training Commission, e-mail: jeen0316@yahoo.com.tw.