Theory versus practice in planning education: the view from South Africa

Stuart Denoon-Stevens; Lauren Andres; Phil Jones; Lorena Melgaco Silva Marques; Ruth Massey; Verna Nel

doi:10.1080/02697459.2020.1735158

Theory versus practice in planning education: the view from South Africa

Stuart Denoon-Stevens
, Lauren Andres
, Phil Jones
, Lorena Melgaco Silva Marques
, Ruth Massey
, Verna Nel

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

1 Citation (Scopus)

334 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

This paper reflects on the ongoing debate between theory and practice in planning, using the example of South Africa. Based on survey responses, it discusses how planning education in South Africa is perceived to prepare students for practice. While we acknowledge that the majority of respondents view their planning education positively, the results reveal challenges regarding the practical application of theory, especially in the case of land-use management. We then respond to calls for contextualised practices of knowing, emphasising the ‘local’ in planning education so that theory and practice can be combined across contexts.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	509-525
Number of pages	17
Journal	Planning, Practice and Research
Volume	37
Issue number	4
Early online date	12 Mar 2020
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1080/02697459.2020.1735158
Publication status	Published - 4 Jul 2022

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This work was supported by the South African National Research Fund under [Grant 105399]; United Kingdom Economic Social Research Council under [Grant ES/P00198X/1].

Publisher Copyright:
© 2020, © 2020 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 15 Life on Land

Keywords

planning education
South Africa
planning practice
planning theory

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Geography, Planning and Development

Access to Document

10.1080/02697459.2020.1735158Licence: Creative Commons: Attribution (CC BY)

DenoonStevensS2022TheoryFinal published version, 2.32 MBLicence: Creative Commons: Attribution (CC BY)

https://doi.org/10.1080/02697459.2020.1735158Licence: Creative Commons: Attribution (CC BY)

The appropriateness, usefulness and impact of the current urban planning curriculum in South African Higher Education
Beazley, M. (Co-Investigator), Andres, L. (Principal Investigator) & Jones, P. (Co-Investigator)
Economic & Social Research Council
1/02/17 → 30/07/20
Project: Research Councils

Planning education research in South Africa 2018
Jones, P. (Creator), UK Data Service, 10 Jul 2020
https://reshare.ukdataservice.ac.uk/854063/
Dataset

Cite this

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Theory versus practice in planning education: the view from South Africa

Abstract

Bibliographical note

UN SDGs

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Access to Document

Fingerprint

Projects

The appropriateness, usefulness and impact of the current urban planning curriculum in South African Higher Education

Datasets

Planning education research in South Africa 2018

Cite this