Knowing and doing: an integrated approach to education and training in South Africa
| Date | 01 October 1996 |
| Published date | 01 October 1996 |
| Author | LORRAINE SILVERMAN,LAUREN BLYTHE SCHÜTTE |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1099-162X(199610)16:4<331::AID-PAD887>3.0.CO;2-L |
PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION AND DEVELOPMENT, VOL. 16, 331-339 (1996)
Knowing and doing: an integrated approach to education and
training in South Africa
LAUREN BLYTHE
SCHUTTE
and LORRAINE SILVERMAN
University
of
Witwatersrand
SUMMARY
The Postgraduate Diploma in Management at the Graduate School of Public
&
Development
Management (P&DM), University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, arises from our
enthusiasm for a paradigm shift in the education of entry level public sector managers in
South Africa; this is an approach that has developed out of moves towards a new public
service that is development friendly and customer-oriented. The move away from traditional
lecture-based classroom activities to interactive learning methods has given rise to much
reflection on teaching, learning and appropriate assessment at P&DM. This has resulted in an
appreciation for continuous learning as we pursue our quest to improve
our
facilitation in line
with the needs of a student group that will graduate to face the immense challenges of making
institutions work in a newly democratic polity. Our graduates are tasked with transformation
in a rapidly moving environment. For them, a commitment to life-long learning is the most
important attitude they can develop and for
us
it is the most important outlook we can
nurture. This article focuses on three integrated areas: the Administrative Skills Course, which
aims at establishing underlying skills on which students should build throughout the year; the
Case Study Programme, which provides a simulation of real problems and issues faced by
managers in the public sector; and the Internship Programme, which provides the opportunity
for the integration of classroom learning and workplace practice. We focus primarily on the
teaching methods and the integrative nature of these courses and programmes, highlighting
aspects that have worked well and those that have not. The ongoing development of these
programmes has been informed by relatively informal evaluations. We feel that the time has
come for more rigorous investigation into the effectiveness of our teaching and both have
research in progress. The design and findings
of
research in progress will be published at a later
date.
INTRODUCTION
Implications of change for the public and development sector in South Africa
The changes that have taken place in South Africa since
1990
have given rise to the
vision
of
a new public service that is representative, responsive and proactive. The
public sector has
a
new role
to
play as an important vehicle for change and
development. Effective human resource development is a key success ingredient. The
Lauren Blythe Schutte and Lorraine Silverman are lecturers at the Graduate School
of
Public
&
Development Management at the University
of
Witwatersrand, P
0
Box 601, WITS 2050,
South
Africa.
Paper presented to 1996 CAPAM Biennial Conference, ‘The
New
Public Administration: Global
Challenges-Local Solutions’, Malta, 21-24 April 1996.
CCC
0271-2075/96/040331-09
0
1996 by John Wiley
&
Sons, Ltd.
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