Making use of action learning in business schools: The UK and New Zealand experience

Abstract

INTRODUCTION Most business schools originated in the latter half of the twentieth century. Often they were staffed by individuals from the business environment who were not skilled in teaching or research methods. The new academics were required to facilitate the learning of students in an academic environment. Often they adopted a narrowly focused approach to knowledge creation, scientific positivism, because the approach was well accepted in society generally and they believed such an approach was expected of them. METHOD We provide details from our personal histories, and from the literature, to demonstrate that scientific positivism has often provided an unsuitable base for the development of teaching, learning, and critical thinking skills in business graduates. We are critical of our broad working environment during the last decades of the twentieth century, because it has been dominated by the scientific positivism approach to understanding. ANALYSIS We argue that any search for universal solutions to problems of learning, as encouraged by scientific positivism, is futile because such universals do not exist. However, much energy is being expended business academics seeking to improve the learning environments in their classrooms. A more accommodating approach to educational research is required. CONCLUSION Business academics may benefit, from the employment of an action learning methodology.