Educational programs as an interactive tool for public engagement by public archives repositories in South Africa

Abstract

The purpose of this article was to investigate whether public archives in South Africa’s educational programs serve as an interactive tool for public engagement. The study adopted a quantitative research approach involving all 10 public archival institutions in South Africa. Data was collected using survey questionnaires, analysis of the legislation on archives, and the national Department of Arts and Culture (DAC) and relevant provincial departments’ annual reports from the 2012–13 to 2014–15 financial years according to the relevant themes of the study. In South Africa, public archival institutions fall under and report to the DAC. The purpose of data triangulation was to collect as much, and as diverse, data as possible to help generate the best possible insight. The study revealed that the public archives’ educational activities were not effectively designed and implemented to bring potential users to archives. The study recommends that public archives engage with educators and curriculum developers to support the South African Curriculum Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS). This will enable archivists and public archival institutions to identify and incorporate developmental and topically relevant archival material into CAPS for use by educators and learners in a classroom environment.