Integrating liberal education, business, and high-impact practices – the case of George Mason university’s school of business

Purpose In College Learning for the New Global Century, the National Leadership Council of Liberal Education and America’s Promise (LEAP) argue for a liberal education for all students because “(i)n an economy fueled by innovation, the capabilities developed through a liberal education have become America’s most valuable economic asset.” (LEAP, 2007). The Business for a Better World Center and the School of Business at George Mason University endorse this view and have applied the liberal education approach to the study of business. This paper aims to explore the current environment of business education, the role of liberal education and the school’s programs and their benefits. Design/methodology/approach This paper relies on a case-study approach. Findings In this paper, the authors explore how George Mason University’s School of Business brings a liberal education approach to business education and draws on a combination of high impact practices, such as first-year seminars, common intellectual experiences, learning communities, collaborative assignments, undergraduate research, community-based learning, internships, capstone courses and projects and diversity and global learning (Kuh, 2008). Mason’s experience demonstrates the feasibility and benefits of this integration. Originality/value This case study provides unique insight into how business schools can integrate a liberal education approach into business education with successful results. As such, the paper contributes to the growing body of research on the benefits of liberal arts and business education models as a means of addressing global goals and provides a valuable case study to understand better the necessity of integrative, interdisciplinary learning.

Enlarging sustainability learning through integrative thinking with a focus on cultivating virtues

Purpose In the African context of business practice, the authors face two interrelated challenges. First, executives need to deal strategically and sustainably with growing levels of inequality, under-employment and declining levels of wellness and safety. Second, executive development needs to develop virtues to help executives to address these problems. This paper aims to articulate an integrated, sustainable business education approach that aims to prepare executives to practice integrative thinking while simultaneously cultivating virtues that enhance their lives, thereby enabling them to make ongoing sustainable impacts to their worlds. Design/methodology/approach This study uses a mixed method analysis including both quantitative and qualitative data from student course feedback evaluations from Business Model Innovation (BMI) and Phronesis Development Practice courses run over four consecutive years between 2018 and 2021 at the University of Cape Town’s Graduate School of Business as part of the Executive Masters of Business Administration degree. Findings The program’s pedagogical approach integrates a philosophical habituation process with a core course on BMI practice. This philosophical integration is one in which there is a sustainable focus on cultivating specific “process” and “practice” virtues which foster awareness amongst executives of their everyday mundane skilful coping in the world. This leads to candidates becoming attuned to ways, in which they can strive for more authenticity and to step into newer ways of being, that allow them to reflect their values and evolve cultural practices. Originality/value As the first business school in Africa to base a BMI course on the affordances of the phenomenon of being-in-the-world and a philosophical habituation process, the authors hope to inspire more business schools to adopt holistic, sustainable approaches to executive development that goes beyond the competence paradigm.

Integrating financial literacy into economics courses through digital tools: the Finlite app

Purpose This study aims to analyze the effect of the Finlite mobile app on the financial literacy of undergraduate business students in Malaysia. Design/methodology/approach This study uses a quasi-experimental pre-intervention design. The data are collected using a quiz and a questionnaire. Cluster sampling is adopted for three different zones in Malaysia. A total of 400 business students enrolled in economics courses participated in the intervention. Findings The results indicate that Finlite significantly promotes students’ savings intentions, practices, decision-making, accountability, values and financial literacy. All results are analyzed based on gender and race. However, Finlite does not significantly help overcome students’ financial issues such as credit card debt and poor spending behavior. Practical implications Financial literacy may be efficiently promoted through digital tools integrated into economics courses. Young adults can make optimal financial decisions after graduation. Future research should explore different courses, addressing undergraduate and high-school students. Originality/value Previous studies predominantly examine attitudes and behaviors related to financial literacy. In contrast, this study measures the ex post impact of the Finlite mobile app on savings intentions, practices, decision-making, accountability, ability to overcome financial issues and value for money.

ISM-MICMAC approach for analysis of project-based learning barriers

Purpose This paper aims to identify and model the key barriers to implementation of project-based learning (PjBL) in higher educational institution. Design/methodology/approach Using the interpretive structural modelling (ISM) technique, the study has developed a hierarchical-based model, depicting the mutual relationships amongst the key barriers to implementation of PjBL. Additionally, the paper has performed Matrice d’ Impacts Croises Multiplication Appliqué an Classement (MICMAC) analysis to categorize the barriers in terms of their driving and dependence power. Findings The study has identified the key barriers to implementation of PjBL and presented an integrated model using ISM. Higher educational institutions need to pay attention to diagnose and overcome these hindrances for effective implementation of PjBL in their programmes. Research limitations/implications The study adopts a systematic way to model the relevant barriers to implementation of PjBL. The ISM-based model would help higher education institutions to prioritize the issues as the barriers are hierarchically structured. As the input to model development is based on the experts’ opinions, it may be biased, influencing the final output of the structural model. Originality/value The presentation of PjBL implementation barriers in the form of an ISM-based model is a new effort. The model would be useful to understand the barriers and overcome these for the successful implementation of PjBL in higher educational institutions.

Sustainability service learning in economics

Purpose Service learning is not comprehensively developed in economics such as the implementation of the 17 sustainability goals of the Agenda 2030 – although this would be beneficial as experiential learning is linked to democratic education goals. Service Learning offers itself as a didactic design for this purpose. The paper aims to discuss how service learning can be used to work critically and reflexively on sustainability issues in a cross-university context. Design/methodology/approach The cross-university teaching-learning project brought together students of industrial engineering and economics. The idea space “sustainable city” was to be developed together with practice partners with the help of the practice-relevant project management method scrum and methods of sustainability assessment in the sense of service learning. Evaluating the project, a written and a qualitative survey were conducted and analysed by means of descriptive statistics as well as content analysis. Findings Success factors include the regular feedback by practice partners and lecturers including reflection questions. Student heterogeneity can hinder effective project work. Complexity can deter effective and successful service learning. The use of scrum in service learning contexts cannot be fully recommended. Although scrum contributes to service learning concepts in economics, in complex sustainability projects either the method should be in focus or prior knowledge of scrum should be mandatory. Originality/value The paper discusses how service learning can be used to critically and reflexively address social and practical challenges in a cross-university context. The study contributes to the fact that the complexity of education for sustainable development competencies requires the teaching of knowledge- and fact-based fundamentals as well as methodological-research procedures for research-based and at the same time practice-oriented learning.

Re-exploring entrepreneurial intentions and personality attributes during a pandemic

Purpose Using the theory of planned behavior as a theoretical base, this study aims to examine the effect of the personality attributes, risk-taking, creativity and locus of control on the entrepreneurial intentions of US business college students. The authors replicated previous studies from around the world but performed the research during the Covid-19 pandemic. Design/methodology/approach The authors surveyed 353 students, comparing those with entrepreneurial intentions (n = 213) versus those without entrepreneurial intentions (n = 140). Findings The authors found that risk-taking and creativity both significantly and positively predicted entrepreneurial intentions, but locus of control did not have a significant impact. Practical implications Contextually, the authors performed this study during the widespread complications of the Covid-19 pandemic. The authors advise business educators to initiate programs that encourage student entrepreneurship by nurturing creativity and offering educational resources that assist students in reducing the perceived risk of entrepreneurship. Originality/value The authors seek to increase awareness among business educators of the significance of entrepreneurship as a desirable career. The authors believe that one impact from the Covid-19 pandemic has been an expanded interest among students to start their own businesses. The authors propose that creative measures introduced into the business school curriculum by business educators will enhance students’ desire to take risks to create their own businesses.

Bilingual learning strategies to support Chinese EAL business students

Purpose This study aims to examine the effectiveness of bilingual learning strategies designed to support Chinese undergraduate business students facing significant learning challenges in an Australian university capstone curriculum delivered at their Chinese university. These challenges include the students’ difficulty understanding discipline-specific English terminology, using this terminology to discuss disciplinary concepts with their instructors and stress caused by an abnormally high study load. Design/methodology/approach In response to these challenges, the project team implemented a suite of bilingual strategies to reduce cognitive load and enhance learning, which included Chinese-English glossaries to build disciplinary-specific vocabularies; a bilingual teaching assistant to enable students to communicate in their language of choice; the use of WeChat to connect students to staff and to provide translanguaging opportunities; and bilateral managerial and academic support for strengthening the institutional cross-cultural relationship through staff exchange and language learning programs. A series of surveys were administered to measure the impact of these strategies on students’ learning, and WeChat logs were analysed to determine students’ linguistic preferences during discussions with staff and students. Findings The results of this project show strong support for each bilingual strategy, high academic performance amongst the student cohort, the positive contribution to learning and connection provided by social media technology, students’ language of choice preferences and chosen translanguaging styles and the important role of teaching staff in supporting international students’ intercultural learning and adaptation to a foreign university learning system. Originality/value This original evidence-based study helps to address the gap in bilingual education in Australian higher education demonstrating a successful strategy for dealing with language and discipline-specific challenges confronting EAL students.

Assessing critical incidents in the post-formation phase: a matter of entrepreneurial expertise?

Purpose Entrepreneurs can easily slide into severe economic crises (Fichman and Levinthal, 1991), in particular, in the first years after their founding. Additionally, research shows that entrepreneurs often lack a realistic evaluation of the entrepreneurial risks and barriers. Referring to research on cognitive and networked expertise (Ericsson et al., 2006; Hakkarainen et al., 2004), recognising and reflecting on potential failure may help to prevent or manage upcoming crises (Mitchell et al., 2008). Thus, this study aims to test whether assessing upcoming crises in a new venture varies along with the level of entrepreneurial expertise. Design/methodology/approach In a cross-sectional design with three subgroups (start-up consultants, entrepreneurs and students), this study evaluated critical incidents that have already been validated as likely to emerge in the post-formation phase (Heinrichs and Jäcklin, 2017). Entrepreneurial expertise was measured by seven indicators, chosen based on the approaches of cognitive and networked expertise. Findings By applying latent profile analyses, the participants were grouped along with these indicators of expertise in three levels. Analysis of variance showed significant differences amongst the profiles in perceiving critical incidents. Experts rated the incidents significantly higher than semi-experts and novices towards indicating financial risks (medium effect) and the probability that the entrepreneur could manage the upcoming crises (large effect). Originality/value The results call for developing and evaluating interventions, e.g. case-oriented entrepreneurship education courses (Heinrichs, 2016), that foster future entrepreneurs’ expertise in perceiving and managing entrepreneurial risks to prevent entrepreneurial failure.

Exploring peer feedback on behaviour in the international classroom: a case study on students’ experiences and perceptions

Purpose In spite of the potential of peer feedback, research related to the international classroom and the development of intercultural competences remains limited. This paper aims to further explore this combination and associated gaps by presenting students’ perceptions of peer feedback on individual behaviour in group work. Design/methodology/approach Several studies have shown that peer feedback can be a powerful instrument in higher education. For this reason, this instrument is increasingly being deployed in the international classroom of a Dutch Business School (DBS), which has a student population of about 60 different nationalities. The present paper adopts an embedded case-study design in studying peer feedback within the international classroom. Findings The primary results of this study are twofold. First, they show that before joining DBS, the vast majority of international students have never been exposed to group work peer feedback. And second, they reveal that cultural background (bias) is a critical factor in how students provide and perceive peer feedback. Students from high-context cultures struggle with direct feedback provided by students from low-context cultures. Furthermore, the results show that domestic cultural values “lack consideration” when dealing with the contrasts in cultural values of non-domestic (international) students. Originality/value This study indicates that several aspects of the students’ cultural background have a direct impact on how they provide and perceive individual peer feedback on their behaviour in group work. Furthermore, it argues that peer feedback, when used as an instrument, requires specific training and guidance of students with regard to cultural differences, values and perceptions.

Crisis-centric distance learning model in Jordanian higher education sector: factors influencing the continuous use of distance learning platforms during COVID-19 pandemic

Purpose This paper aims to investigate the factors that affect the acceptance of distance learning systems by university academic staff and students in Jordan. To achieve this objective, it has been proposed to examine the distance learning experience of Jordanian Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) after the universities institution suspended face-to-face (traditional) courses delivery owing to novel Coronavirus’ (COVID-19) fears. Design/methodology/approach This study expands upon unified theory of acceptance and use of technology 2 by incorporating contextual variables such as trust (TR), autonomy (AUT) and compatibility (CMP). Data collection has been carried out through an online survey, which targeted participants at public and private universities during the crisis time of coronavirus. Structural equation modelling has been used to validate the proposed research model. Findings The outcomes revealed that performance expectancy, facilitating conditions, TR and AUT were the significant predictors of distance learning acceptance in both samples. By identifying the factors affecting the acceptance of distance learning systems, it will be more useful to offer better services of distance learning. This will also help to demonstrate that distance learning will be capable of delivering the educational aims of HEIs to areas where a pandemic outbreak in the Middle East. Originality/value Distance learning provides university students with quality education, engaging platforms and most significantly a safe teaching environment. The results and implications to both practice and theory are described.