Vandijk

An undergraduate

curriculum analysis of Public

Administration in selected

higher education institutions

H G van Dijk

School of Public Management and Administration

University of Pretoria

C Thornhill

Honorary Professor

Department of Public Governance

University of Johannesburg

ABSTRACT

Public Administration Education has been a contentious issue as the

discipline developed and struggled to find its own identity and theoretical

framework. The article argues that Public Administration Education has

been shaped by its historical influences and that the interdisciplinary

nature of Public Administration poses specific challenges to its teaching.

Public Administration, as a social science, finds its application in various

political, social, economic and physical environments. The reality is that

some common characteristics in the practice of public administration can

be discerned, but this is not sufficient to create a theory. The implication

of the above is that institutions of higher education, although led by

South African Qualifications Authority registered qualification outcome,

interprets the discipline based on their own peculiarities – leading to

fragmentation and non-consensus as to what constitutes the discipline of

Public Administration.

In this article, the authors argue that teaching Public Administration

does not reflect any true discipline related inquiry. Rather, institutions of

higher education react to the practice of public administration in teaching

the theory of Public Administration. The authors argue for a balance

between theory and practice to be evident in Public Administration

Education. This article will explore, using inductive reasoning, the content

Administratio Publica | Vol 19 No 1 April 2011

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and context of teaching Public Administration in undergraduate degree

programmes. Selected institutions of higher education will be used. The

article concludes with a framework which could inform future curriculum

selection for the teaching of Public...