A Conceptual Framework for Post Entry Education of Public Administrators

Platitudes and insults are equally conspicuous in the history of local government. It has been labeled as the kitchen of democracy by some and described as the most corrupt and inefficient level of government in America by others . Yet, one consistently used descriptive word appears in contemporary literature to characterize local government. That word is, trouble. While there is little disagreement that limited qualified manpower is contributing to the difficulties being experienced by local government there is even less disagreement on another point; that local government must be maintained and improved if the federal system of government is to be made secure. Therefore, it is surprising that so little attention has been directed toward the development of a systematic procedure to provide the manpower skills that local government drastically needs. Perhaps the situation exists because only recently have the joint influence of federal sponsored programs and the increasing problems of urbanization combined in such force to reveal the strain being placed on the skills of local public administrators. However, now that local government has been revealed to be in short supply of skilled public administrators at almost every level, from the chief executive to the first line supervisor, perhaps greater attention can be focused on the development of a framework to provide post entry education for local public administrators