Undergraduate education in public administration and public service motivation: A quasi-experiment with the intervention of an introductory course

Abstract

This study aims to explore whether an introductory undergraduate course in Public Administration might be an appropriate educational tool for enhancing public service motivation (PSM) among undergraduate students. A quasi-experimental design involves surveying participants both before and after the intervention (taking an Introduction to Public Administration course) to examine whether their levels of PSM increase as a result of the intervention. The hypotheses were tested by comparing 96 students exposed to an intervention (experimental group) with 166 students who were not exposed (control group). There was no significant change in the total score of PSM and its individual dimensions before and after the intervention in both groups, and so the Introduction to Public Administration course was not effective in enhancing the level of PSM. The implications and limitations of this quasi-experiment are also discussed.