Education within public management in South Africa: a focus on external whole-school evaluation process’ contribution in Mpumalanga Province

Abstract

The study focused on the role played by public sector management in South Africa towards the country’s total development and improvement. This article also analyses how through the Whole School Evaluation (WSE) process, the education system in South Africa seeks to ensure that the schooling is effective. This paper examines public management, public administration as well as new public management (NPM). The aim is to illustrate a view of how education fits in the broader public management and how the WSE process assists schooling in South Africa and Mpumalanga in particular. This is to ensure that the schooling is effective and contribute towards service delivery and the country’s overall development and improvement. Furthermore, WSE as a process, is viewed through five of NPM undisputable and debatable characteristics of accountability for performance; performance measurement; performance auditing; policy analysis and evaluation; and strategic planning and management. Public management functions and public management principles are discussed from a point of how the WSE process strives to ensure that it complies with these function and principles, and how this compliance benefit school improvement. This paper came to a number of conclusions regarding education within public management from a WSE perspective. Firstly, education through the external WSE process conforms to this principle of New Public Management in that evaluation is aimed at improving the quality of education. Also, the external WSE, as a process, and education in general, through the NPM principles can be performed within public management. Furthermore, external WSE conforms to public management principles as well as Batho Pele principles.