Exploring Diverse Perspectives: How Global Influences Shape Curriculum Design in Public Administration Education for Developing States

This study investigates globalization, international aid, and technological advancement as factors affecting public administration (PA) courses in developing countries. Using a convergent parallel design, we collected data from 255 educators and 250 civil servants amounting to 505 participants from one developing country. We try to understand the shift in global forces and how they dictate the content that is taught and preserved within classrooms in developing settings. Our findings suggest that international aid is often the principal driving force for changing academic programs through the introduction of transparency, effectiveness, and modern management principles. The aid models, however, do not always align with the realities of most developing countries, which renders their contextualization extremely difficult. Globalization has infused some governance frameworks into various curricula. This is often the case of public governance where international frameworks crowd out the consideration of local aspects like ethnic diversity or informal forms of politics that greatly influence public administration systems in these countries. With regard to new technologies, or other digital learning tools, they have opened up new possibilities for delivering curricula; however, access through the digital divide remains inequitable. Ultimately, the study advocates for a more balanced approach that integrates global best practices with local knowledge and governance traditions which will equip PA education adequately to better prepare public servants for both international expectations and domestic challenges.

Curriculum design; developing states; global influences; governance reforms; public administration; technological innovation

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