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 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 Administration.
