A pandemic's reminder: The public service vocation is at the heart of our field. (2nd January 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Vogel, Morgan D.
• Is Part Of: Journal of public affairs education. Volume 28:Number 1(2022)
• Page Start: 80
• Page End: 90
• Publication Date: 2022-01-02
• Subjects: Vocation -- COVID-19 -- public service education -- motivation; Public administration -- Study and teaching -- Periodicals; Policy sciences -- Study and teaching -- Periodicals; Policy sciences -- Study and teaching; Public administration -- Study and teaching; Periodicals; 351
• DOI: 10.1080/15236803.2021.1921343
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1523-6803

Abstract

ABSTRACT: As the COVID-19 pandemic threatens American lives and disrupts daily routines, we continue to see front-line public servants step forward to battle the virus with persistence. Given the increasingly polarized COVID environment, the natural inclination is to ask: what is motivating these public servants to persevere in their work despite the chaotic circumstances of this pandemic? For many public servants, the public service vocation is their reason – the collective ethos that binds public servants together in creating a purpose-driven and action-oriented life. This essay encourages public service educators to adopt vocation as a motivational lens in their classrooms to help students understand the true meaning of public service work. Vocation is not a new concept for public service that simply emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic; rather, the pandemic serves as a focusing event to remind scholars and students that the public service vocation is at the heart of our field.