A Comparative Study Of MPA Education Between China And The United States

This article summarizes the objectives, curriculum and implementation of MPA education between China and the United States. According to reaserch result, we find that there is a big difference between the university of China and the United States in MPA education. By comparison, there are many problems to be solved in the MPA education in China, such as the unclear educational objective, focusing on theory rather than practice in curriculum, the small number of elective courses, attaching no intention to the methodology course, the single method of curriculum implementation etc. Administration plays a prominent role in Chinese University that’s management mode is hierarchical. Meanwhile, teachers are in the bottom of active management, so that students are managed passively by all levels in university. The dominant function of teachers and stuednts has not been played well. Teaching activities have been shown in one-way, that is to say, teacher teach, students accept passively. Current training model of MPA Education in China does not match the training objectives of public administration personnel, so that students can not adapt to the development of society under these problems.However, in USA, the courses are abundant and unique, which attach importance to case study, role-playing and group discussion, particularly emphasising on combining theory with practice in teaching methods. At the same time, thanks to the freedom of culture atmosphere, universities in USA define leading role of teachers’teaching and the dominant position of students. The education culture in knowledge communication is in two-way between teachers and students in the United States. The development of MPA education in the United States is relatively mature, as it cultivate high leved talents.In order to cultivate administration management professionals with high-quality, we should make reform in current MPA education. Boldly learn the successful education model and experience from United States. We ought to take reform in the following four aspects:clearly understanding of training objectives and quality elements, setting up courses with practice and flexibility, exploring new teaching model, and enhancing the teacher team construction.