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The purpose of this qualitative study was an investigation of the phenomenon of Knowledge Management (KM) program design and development. The interest in KM programs has grown during the last decade because of the increased demand for KM educational research and the importance of the emerging knowledge economy. This exploratory and explanatory investigation scrutinized two cases of graduate KM programs conceived in the year 2000. Choo’s Knowing Cycle was the conceptual framework for the study and furnished an interpretive structure for the data in terms of various processes: historical sensemaking, knowledge creation, and decision-making. Two methods were used for data collection: document analysis and structured interviews with fifteen informants—ranging from deans and directors to Advisory Board members and program support staff. Grounded theory was the analytical method used. / Le but de cette dissertation était l’étude du phénomène de création et de développement de programmes de gestion des connaissances (GC). L’intérêt pour les programmes de gestion des connaissances a augmenté au cours de la dernière décennie face à la demande de recherche en éducation de gestion des connaissances et à l’importance de l’émergence de l’économie du savoir. Cette recherche exploratoire et explicative examine deux programmes d’études supérieures en gestion des connaissances conçus en I”an 2000. Le modèle théorique du cycle du savoir de Choo a été utilisé pour cette étude et a fourni une structure d’interprétation pour les données en terme de divers processus: la signification historique, la création du savoir, et la prise de décision. Deux méthodes ont été utilisées pour la collecte des données, soient l’analyse de documents et l’entrevue structurée avec quinze informateurs: du doyen aux présidents et membres des commissions consultatives au personnel de soutien des programmes. La Grounded Theory a été la méthode analytique utilisée. fr

D.Litt.et Phil. (Information Science) / Schools of library and information science, like all professional schools, are tied to the profession they prepare their students for. They must balance the needs and demands of the profession they serve and the needs and demands of the educational institution they form part of. In South Africa and elsewhere, there is a perceived gap between the product the library schools deliver and the needs of the library and information profession. The technikons in South Africa are relative newcomers to the training and education of librarians and information workers. Their task is seen mainly as the training of paraprofessional library workers, since it is the aim of technikons to provide relevant, vocational education and training through co-operation with the relevant industries/professions. The qualification structure of technikons makes provision for different levels of undergraduate qualifications in the form of national certificates, national higher certificates, diplomas and since 1994, technikon degrees. The conventional qualification structure used for library and information science training, does not however make provision for certificate qualifications - technikons at this stage offer only the National Diploma: Library and Information Practice. There is presently no possibility for technikon diplomates to upgrade their paraprofessional qualification to professional level. The education and training of librarians and information workers through the medium of distance education is well established in South Africa. The distance education institutions use the same qualification structure as the residential institutions, despite the fact that qualifying through parttime distance education takes much longer. Distance learners therefore could benefit from interim qualifications like certificates, since it could serve as indication to their employers that they are making progress with their studies. There are indications from the library and information science profession that there is a need for more undergraduate levels of qualifications because of the different needs of the different communities in South Africa, especially those of the disadvantaged communities. The qualification structure for library and information science education at Technikon SA, which teaches through the medium of distance education, can however not be changed without consulting the library and information profession. The aim of this study is to determine whether the profession would accept a changed qualification structure. To determine this, the Delphi method is used. The Delphi method is a technique that makes use of the opinions of experts for forecasting future events. The Delphi study is supported by a literature study which serves to put the research into context by ...