eCULTURE
Abstract
Arguably, most undergraduate education in business schools focuses on transmitting knowledge from teacher to student, the goal being for students to acquire facts, practical or technical skills and specific problem solving strategies (Cranton, 1994). Students feel comfortable with this positivistic learning situation as it is goal-directed and certified by a diploma or degree. Many of the teaching styles and the learning activities we believe enable us to 'teach effectively' are related to this transmissive paradigm of education. Adult learners, by contrast, need to know why they need to know something before undertaking to learn it. Learning becomes a process of increasing competence to achieve one’s life potential, so learning is a much more meaningful experience. Effective, lasting (lifelong) education behoves us as instructors to create educational situations that expose student limitations, undertake critical self-reflection, and examine new ideas and approaches – to become learning partners. This paper describes the way in which the Business Edge program brings elements of transformational experience to students in their undergraduate studies. Drawing on content analysis of reflective journals maintained by students involved in this programme, the paper presents some exploratory research that examines the extent to which the introductory unit of the program has contributed to that evolution.
Recommended Citation
Parry, G.
(2008).
Business Edge: A Transformative Perspective.
eCULTURE, 1(1).
Retrieved from
https://ro.ecu.edu.au/eculture/vol1/iss1/4