Patricia M. Shields (born 1951) is a Regents' Professor in the Political Science Department at Texas State University. Since 2001 she has been Editor-in-Chief of the international and interdisciplinary journal ''

Armed Forces & Society ''Armed Forces & Society'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic publication that publishes articles and book reviews on a wide variety of topics including civil–military relations, military sociology, veterans, military psychology, military ...

''. She is also a Contributing Editor to ''Parameters: The US Army War College Quarterly'' and the Section Editor of the ''Military and Society'' section to the ''Handbook of Military Sciences''. Shields is notable for her publications focusing on research methods, civil military relations, gender issues, pragmatism in public administration, peace studies, and the contributions of Jane Addams to public administration and peace theory. She received a BA in Economics from the University of Maryland - College Park, an MA in Economics and a PhD in Public Administration from The

Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...

Scholarship

Shields is perhaps most widely known as a scholar for promoting the classical

pragmatism Pragmatism is a philosophical tradition that considers words and thought as tools and instruments for prediction, problem solving, and action, and rejects the idea that the function of thought is to describe, represent, or mirror reality. ...

of C. S. Peirce,

William James William James (January 11, 1842 – August 26, 1910) was an American philosopher, historian, and psychologist, and the first educator to offer a psychology course in the United States. James is considered to be a leading thinker of the lat ...

, and John Dewey as an " organizing principle" for the discipline of

public administration Public Administration (a form of governance) or Public Policy and Administration (an academic discipline) is the implementation of public policy, administration of government establishment (public governance), management of non-profit est ...

. Her publication, "The

Community of inquiry The community of inquiry, abbreviated as CoI, is a concept first introduced by early pragmatist philosophers C.S.Peirce and John Dewey, concerning the nature of knowledge formation and the process of scientific inquiry. The community of inquiry ...

: Classical Pragmatism and Public Administration" (2003), began an ongoing, interdisciplinary, academic debate in the journal '' Administration & Society''. She applies the feminist pragmatism of

Jane Addams Laura Jane Addams (September 6, 1860 May 21, 1935) was an American settlement activist, reformer, social worker, sociologist, public administrator, and author. She was an important leader in the history of social work and women's suffrage ...

to Public Administration. Shields is also notable in the

community for utilizing pragmatism to advance research methodology in the field. For example, Shields is responsible in part for popularizing Dewey's notion of the

working hypothesis A working hypothesis is a hypothesis that is provisionally accepted as a basis for further ongoing research in the hope that a tenable theory will be produced, even if the hypothesis ultimately fails.See in "hypothesis", '' Century Dictionary Supp ...

as a method of preliminary, qualitative, exploratory research, in addition to the concept of the practical ideal type for program evaluation.

Recognition

She received recognition by the

American Society for Public Administration American Society for Public Administration (ASPA) is a membership association of almost 10,000 professionals in the United States sponsoring conferences and providing professional services primarily to those who study the implementation of gover ...

, the Section for Women in Public Administration with the

Rita Mae Kelly Rita Mae Kelly (December 10, 1939 – September 16, 2001) was an American political scientist. She was a professor of political science at the University of Texas at Dallas, where she held the Andrew R. Cecil Endowed Chair in Applied Ethics. She w ...

Award for her contribution to gender studies in public administration,

National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...

with the Leslie A. Whittington Award for excellence in teaching research methods, the Inter-University Seminar for Armed and Society with the

Morris Janowitz Morris Janowitz (October 22, 1919 – November 7, 1988) was an American sociologist and professor who made major contributions to sociological theory, the study of prejudice, urban issues, and patriotism. He was one of the founders of military ...

Career Achievement Award and the journal ''

Public Administration Review ''Public Administration Review'' is a bimonthly peer-reviewed academic journal the field of public administration. It was established in 1940 and has been one of the top-rated journals in the field. It is the official journal of the American Socie ...

'' with the Laverne Burchfield Award. Texas State University has recognized her with the Presidential Seminar Award, The Presidential Award for Excellence in Teaching and the Everett Swinney Faculty Senate Excellence in Teaching Award. She is a fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Shields, Patricia M. 1951 births Living people Texas State University faculty Public administration scholars John Glenn College of Public Affairs alumni University of Maryland, College Park alumni American women political scientists American political scientists American women academics 21st-century American women