Professional and technical fields are the fastest growing occupational sectors in the US. More than one-third of all professional and technical workers are employed by government, particularly in administrative positions, and exert an increasing influence on public policy. But, with the exception of city managers, many of these employees regard themselves as members of the disciplines in which they were trained rather than primarily as public administrators. The field of public administration has not influenced public policy as much as other fields have, possibly because: it is not a specialized profession; practitioners do not agree on what its core knowledge, skills and orientation should be; and there is little incentive for students to pursue studies in the field since most administrative positions are held by other specialists. Although more attention in colleges is now being paid to administrative and management fields, courses are usually based on organizational theories of private business models, with little emphasis on the unique problems of government administration. Professional schools suffer from a general bias against teaching the kinds of subjects that might be useful in government jobs. Hence, many professional administrators lack the skills, knowledge or attitudes to deal with increasing social problems. To meet the growing demand and suggest future action for trained public administrators, a research proposal is offered for evaluating the roles of educational institutions, governmental agencies, and assessing the attitudes of professional public officials. (WM)