Public Administration and Policy

6 ECTS credits
162 h study time

Offer 1 with catalog number 1021150AER for all students in the 2nd semester at a (A) Bachelor - preliminary level.

Semester

2nd semester

Enrollment based on exam contract

Possible

Grading method

Grading (scale from 0 to 20)

Can retake in second session

Yes

Enrollment Requirements

Je hebt ‘Politicologie: algemene inleiding’ gevolgd, alvorens dit opleidingsonderdeel op te nemen.

Taught in

Dutch

Partnership Agreement

Under agreement for exchange of courses

Faculty

Faculty of Social Sciences & SolvayBusinessSchool

Department

Political Science

Educational team

Didier Caluwaerts (course titular)

Activities and contact hours

26 contact hours Lecture
13 contact hours Seminar, Exercises or Practicals
140 contact hours Independent or External Form of Study

Course Content

The course gives a state of the art of the theories of public administration, as well as the practices and new trends in governance. Half of all classes will consist of interactive lectures, which students have to prepare for, and in which they have to actively participate. These lectures will deal with the following themes:

Class 1: Theories of public administration
Class 2: The context of public administration
Class 3: Actors in public administration
Class 4: Processes of public administration
Class 5: Innovations in public administration
Class 6: Challenges to public administration

The other classes will consist of a Policy Forum, i.e. a lecture series in which practitioners and academics share their views of politics and policy. Participation in these lectures is compulsory.

Course material

Handbook (Required) : Handboek Bestuurskunde, Organisatie en werking van het openbaar bestuur, Hondeghem A. , Van Dooren W. , De Rynck F. , Verschuere B. , Op de Beeck S., Vanden Broele, 9789049619589, 2023

Additional info

The powerpoint presentations and possible additional literature will be shared through Canvas.

The handbook, the contents of the lecture series and knowledge of current political affairs are an integral part of the study materials.

Learning Outcomes

General Competencies

The students need to gain insight into the workings of the political system, and more specifically into the theory and practice of the political and policy process in Belgium.

They moreover have to be able to see the historical context against which the government developed itself, and to identify new tendencies in policy making.

More specifically, the envisaged competencies are the following:

Students can explain core concepts from political science and public administration.
Students know the most important theories to analyse and explain policy making.
Students know the history and functioning of political institutions.
Students know how adjacent disciplines (sociology, history...) approach societal and political developments.
Students can reflect critically on current political problems.
Students can function in team.

The students are required to read the course materials before each lesson, to prepare questions and to actively participate.

Grading

The final grade is composed based on the following categories:
Written Exam determines 100% of the final mark.

Within the Written Exam category, the following assignments need to be completed:

Written Exam with a relative weight of 1 which comprises 100% of the final mark.

Note: Kennis-, inzichts- en toepassingsvragen

Additional info regarding evaluation

100% Written exam.

Allowed unsatisfactory mark

The supplementary Teaching and Examination Regulations of your faculty stipulate whether an allowed unsatisfactory mark for this programme unit is permitted.

Academic context