Abstract
We start 2014 with a special themed issue based on the successful 2013 Teaching Public Administration Conference held in San Francisco in June last year. Below Gleb Nikitenko (one of the organisers) sets the conference in context. In this issue we are delighted to include six papers which reflect the breadth and diversity of the 2013 conference.
The papers examine a broad range of topics, but there are two over-arching themes: a focus on the changing and contested nature of teaching public administration and the implications that different models of learning have for both participants and faculty; and a concern for the state or health of the discipline. The pressures of accreditation, recruitment and retention, the relationships within universities and between universities and external agencies (who can offer practical and professional support or sites for learning) shape the discussions on curriculum change or innovation. These reflections can, themselves, provide opportunities to extend further our examination of the state of the field or the discipline.
We are delighted too that the response to Teaching Public Administration has been so positive. We are pleased to announce that from January 2015 we will move to three issues per year. A key factor influencing the decision to increase the number of issues has been the quality of the papers received as well as the international audience of academics, researchers and practitioners who are engaged with the Journal.
As part of our preparation for 2015 we have extended the membership of the Editorial Board and we do welcome offers to join us and we have agreed a schedule for 2015 and well into 2016.
Thank you for supporting TPA and we look forward to engaging in rich and challenging dialogue over the next year.