TY - JOUR

T1 - Exploring Student Perceptions of the Hidden Curriculum in Responsible Management Education

AU - Høgdal, Catharina

AU - Rasche, Andreas

AU - Schoeneborn, Dennis

AU - Scotti, Levinia

PY - 2021/1

Y1 - 2021/1

N2 - This exploratory study analyzes the extent of alignment between the formal and hidden curricula in responsible management education (RME). Based on case study evidence of a school that has signed the United Nations Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME), we found poor alignment between the school’s explicit RME claims and students’ lived experiences. While the formal curriculum signaled to students that RME was important, the school’s hidden curriculum sent a number of tacit messages that led students to question the relevance and applicability of responsible management. The tacit messages that students received occurred along three “message sites” related to (a) how the formal curriculum was delivered, (b) how students and lecturers interacted, and (c) how the school was governed. On the basis of these findings we develop a proposition that can guide further research in this area, i.e., the connotative level of language use is an important site of misalignments between what lecturers say in relation to RME (e.g., in a syllabus) and how students interpret the meaning of their lecturers’ words. We also discuss further implications of our findings for strengthening the alignment between schools’ formal RME claims and their hidden curriculum.

AB - This exploratory study analyzes the extent of alignment between the formal and hidden curricula in responsible management education (RME). Based on case study evidence of a school that has signed the United Nations Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME), we found poor alignment between the school’s explicit RME claims and students’ lived experiences. While the formal curriculum signaled to students that RME was important, the school’s hidden curriculum sent a number of tacit messages that led students to question the relevance and applicability of responsible management. The tacit messages that students received occurred along three “message sites” related to (a) how the formal curriculum was delivered, (b) how students and lecturers interacted, and (c) how the school was governed. On the basis of these findings we develop a proposition that can guide further research in this area, i.e., the connotative level of language use is an important site of misalignments between what lecturers say in relation to RME (e.g., in a syllabus) and how students interpret the meaning of their lecturers’ words. We also discuss further implications of our findings for strengthening the alignment between schools’ formal RME claims and their hidden curriculum.

KW - Business education

KW - Classroom practices

KW - Hidden curriculum

KW - PRME

KW - Responsible management education

KW - Management studies

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85067295973&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1007/s10551-019-04221-9

DO - 10.1007/s10551-019-04221-9

M3 - Journal articles

AN - SCOPUS:85067295973

VL - 168

SP - 173

EP - 193

JO - Journal of Business Ethics

JF - Journal of Business Ethics

SN - 0167-4544

IS - 1

ER -