ABSTRACT
Chapter 1 introduces readers to the theme of our text—understanding the voices of public service from the front lines through a Lilliberation framework. The focus of Chapter 1 is to examine the front-line literature to date, documenting the absence of a liberatory framework for street-level bureaucracy. Inevitably, the front-line public administration literature is rooted in a rich history and scholarship across sectors (e.g., policing, education, and environment). To provide context, we begin the chapter with a definition of front-line actors. With this definition, we use the concept of delegation of authority to illustrate that policymaking cannot occur until after Congress creates a law, leaving the heavy lifting to street-level bureaucrats. With this foundation, we introduce students to our liberatory street-level framework to apply while reading each of the case studies across the chapters. We conclude with an overview of each chapter, highlighting the case studies. The case studies exemplify important, contemporary examples for students to understand why sitting with our discomfort is essential for the future of public administration. Additionally, each chapter ends with application examples for faculty to include in their coursework, so we are not checking boxes but encouraging reflective action.
