Teaching Planning Students About Strategizing, Boundary Spanning and Ethics: Part of the New Planning Theory

Abstract

Recent interest in new planning theory has taken a turn toward a more normative, prescriptive action theory of planning, one that addresses how professional planners should act in pursuit of planned change to achieve greater effectiveness. This paper discusses how one planning educator— who has had 30 years of planning experience; half of it most recently in the Academy — weaves together three divergent strands of an action theory of planning in the classroom in attempting to lay the groundwork for students to become better strategists, boundary spanners and ethicists. The paper relates knowledge to pedagogy and includes a discussion of course content and instructional methods for the three courses that focus on these three roles for planners. The unifying thread connecting these divergent strands is a concern for educating students to be more effective in practice.