Study-Unit Description

Study-Unit Description


CODE PPL1505

 
TITLE History of Maltese Public Service

 
UM LEVEL 01 - Year 1 in Modular Undergraduate Course

 
MQF LEVEL 5

 
ECTS CREDITS 2

 
DEPARTMENT Policy, Politics and Governance

 
DESCRIPTION This study-unit surveys the main historical events and processes which gave rise to government departments and structures and the workings of the Public Service.

It will very briefly and specifically look at four historical stages:

- The administration of the Order of St. John (1530 – 1798);
- The pre-war British period (1800 to 1945;
- The post-World War II period until independence (1946 – 1964)
- The post-independence scenario (1964 to the present).

The analysis of these three specific historical periods will be conducted in relation to a series of economic, political and social phenomena that allowed certain governmental departments and structures to emerge and others to disappear.

Study-Unit Aims:

Nurturing an appreciation of the historical background of any discipline is the one of the first steps towards understanding the depth and width of contemporary issues and challenges. The discipline of Public Administration is no exception and this is the reason why students ought to have a better understanding of the long historical evolution of the Public Sector in Malta.

This study-unit aims to give students basic knowledge of how Public Service departments and structures developed and changed over time, keeping in view the economic, political and social developments that shaped their development.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Knowledge & Understanding:

By the end of the study-unit students will be able to:

- Identify the various key historical moments in the development of the Maltese Public Service;
- Recognise how economic, political and social issues and events impacted Public Service structures;
- Locate students’ departments / organisations within a historical context, given that students are already employed as Public Officers.

2. Skills:

By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to:

- Judge how present structures reflect their historical roots;
- Discuss whether present government structures can legitimize their established rationale or else need to be reformed, re-engineered or cease to exist.

Main Text/s and any supplementary readings:

Main Text:

- Commonwealth Secretariat. 2002. A Profile of the Public Service of Malta. London: Commonwealth Secretariat.
- Curmi, Joseph J. M. 2016. Public Administration and Governance: The Maltese Experience (e-book)
- Pirotta, Godfrey A. 1996. The Maltese Public Service 1800-1940: the Administrative Politics of a Micro-State. Malta: Mireva Publications.

Supplementary Readings:

- Staines, Patrick. 2008. Essays on Governing Malta (1800 – 1813). Malta: PEG Ltd.
- Staines, Patrick. 2015. Essays on Governing Malta (1813 – 1835). Malta: self-published.
- Warrington, Edward. 1994. The Making and Un-making of a Great Estate: An Essay on the Malta Civil Service from War to Self-Government, 1943-1947. Malta: Staff Development Organisation.

 
STUDY-UNIT TYPE Lecture & Independent Online Learning

 
METHOD OF ASSESSMENT
Assessment Component/s Assessment Due Sept. Asst Session Weighting
Examination (2 Hours) SEM1 Yes 100%

 
LECTURER/S Mario Thomas Vassallo

 

 
The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints.
Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice.
It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2024/5. It may be subject to change in subsequent years.

https://www.um.edu.mt/course/studyunit