Public administration facts for kids

A group of public servants at a meeting

Public Administration has two meanings. First it refers to the implementation (or "putting into action") of government policy. Second, it is an academic discipline that studies this implementation and prepares civil servants for working in the public service (the non-political part of the government).

Public administration aims to help improve management of the government and improve policies so that government can function better. Public administrators manage public programs, translate politics into the programs and services that citizens use every day. In universities, professors of public administration study government decision making, analyze policies, and think about how to improve policies and programs.

Images for kids

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  Administrators tend to work with both paper documents and computer files: "There has been a significant shift from paper to electronic records during the past two decades. Although government institutions continue to print and maintain paper documents as 'official records,' the vast majority of records are now created and stored in electronic format." (pictured here is Stephen C. Dunn, Deputy Comptroller for the US Navy)

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  Woodrow Wilson

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  Luther Gulick (1892–1993) was an expert on public administration.

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  The costly Vietnam War alienated U.S. citizens from their government. Pictured is Operation Arc Light, a U.S. bombing operation.

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  Sciences Po, Havre Campus

See also

In Spanish: Administración pública para niños