The “public field” after the establishment of the national curriculum guidelines for the undergraduate teaching in public administration: trajectory and current challenges (2015-2020)

Abstract

The year 2020 marks ten years since the term “Public Field” was introduced in Brazil. Professors and students of undergraduate programs in public administration, public management, and public policy were the first to adopt the term, which emerged at a public hearing of the National Education Council on April 5, 2010, held to discuss the preparation of the National Curriculum Guidelines (NCG) for public administration undergraduate programs. There are many books and articles about the history of public administration education in Brazil, discussing its various cycles since 1952 and the movement to redefine the identity of higher education in this field of knowledge, which resulted in the establishment of the NCG in 2014. During the period 2015-2020, the Public Field in Brazil witnessed the establishment of representative entities, the process of implementing the NCG, the creation of specific scientific events, the preparation of the National Student Performance Exam (Enade) for public administration students, the elaboration of publications with titles related to the Public Field, and the formation of a multidisciplinary academic community. However, there is no systematization of this period of institutionalization. This article addresses this gap, describing this recent history and analyzing the current challenges of the Public Field. First, we carried out a comparative analysis of literature and documents to reveal the milestones of the public field and its challenges after the implementation of the NCG. Then, we conducted a survey with 365 valid responses, where professors, researchers, students, and alumni related to the Public Field prioritized the challenges presented. The outcome of this research is an overview of the construction of the Public Field in Brazil.