The effects of continuing public sector management education: a systematic literature review
International Journal of Public Sector Management
ISSN: 0951-3558
Article publication date: 20 March 2023
Issue publication date: 29 November 2023
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to review previous research on the effects of continuing public sector management education to systematize existing knowledge, identify gaps in the literature and to point out a need for future research.
Design/methodology/approach
The purpose is realized as a systematic literature review using the Scopus and JSTOR databases as well as Google Scholar. A combination of the search words identified in previous research about the topic were used: Effect, outcome, impact and result in a combination with three different types of further adult education within leadership, management and/or administration: Master of Public Administration (MPA), Master of Public Management (MPM) and Master of Public Governance (MPG). The initial search resulted in millions of files. To continue in a manageable way, the first 10 results pages of each search were analyzed according to three categories: Individual level, organizational level and professional level.
Findings
Results show a limited number of papers documenting the effects of the education programs. Most papers regard the individual level effects, very few the organizational level and a few more the professional level. Given the low number of studies on the last two levels, these are suggested for future research.
Originality/value
This is the first study to summarize knowledge on the effects of the professional masters' programs MPA, MPM and MPG.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
This paper forms part of a special section “Historical Trends and Emerging Issues in Public Management Education”, guest edited by Prof. Morten Balle Hansen, Assoc. Prof. Anja Overggaard Thomassen and Prof. Dag Olaf Torjese.
Citation
Sørensen, P. (2023), "The effects of continuing public sector management education: a systematic literature review", International Journal of Public Sector Management, Vol. 36 No. 4/5, pp. 300-314. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPSM-01-2022-0001
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2023, Emerald Publishing Limited