Samenvatting

What do Public Administration scholars tell Public Administration students in the Netherlands about the study of Public Administration as science, public administration as empirical domain and how it works? By means of interpretative and historicizing research I studied student handbooks and historical reviews on the origination myth and self-image of Public Administration.
It shows a very delineated origin myth and a mainly non-political and neutral self-image. Therefore I conclude that Public Administration mostly neglects its political-normative foundations, which deliver problems in how and what Public Administration scholars teach. This article shows the importance of the political-normative foundations and includes a plea for Public Administration as true political science.