Educating Archivists and Records Managers in Botswana: Critical Perspectives on Digital Transformation and Cross-disciplinary Approaches

Digital transformation has become a central factor influencing society, alongside environmental, political, economic, cultural, and ecological changes. As its significance increases, archival education needs to adopt a broader, interdisciplinary approach. In Botswana, this requires aligning archival education with government initiatives that advance digitalisation and innovation as part of national development and the transition to a technology-based economy. This paper reviews archival education curricula at selected universities in Botswana, comparing them to national policy competency frameworks and international standards, including DigCurV, InterPARES, and the ICA competency framework. The review finds that Botswana’s archival education demonstrates strengths in programme breadth, governance, law, and management, yet notable gaps remain in such areas as electronic preservation, cybersecurity, data governance, and cross-disciplinary skills. The study recommends updating curricula to handle these digital and interdisciplinary requirements. The findings presented herein offer policymakers evidence to support curriculum revisions that would meet the demands of digital recordkeeping and transformation more effectively.