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Exploring Student Perceptions of the Hidden Curriculum in Responsible Management Education

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Abstract

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.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. CBS Centre for Sustainability, Copenhagen Business School, Dalgas Have 15, 2000, Frederiksberg, Denmark

    Catharina Høgdal, Andreas Rasche & Levinia Scotti

  2. Mistra Centre for Sustainable Markets (MISUM), Stockholm School of Economics, Box 6501, 113 83, Stockholm, Sweden

    Andreas Rasche

  3. Department of Management, Communication and Society (MSC), Copenhagen Business School, Dalgas Have 15, 2000, Frederiksberg, Denmark

    Dennis Schoeneborn

  4. Institute of Management & Organization (IMO), Leuphana University Lüneburg, Universitätsallee 1, 21335, Lüneburg, Germany

    Dennis Schoeneborn

Authors
  1. Catharina Høgdal
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  2. Andreas Rasche
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  3. Dennis Schoeneborn
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  4. Levinia Scotti
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Correspondence to Andreas Rasche.

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Appendices

Appendix 1

Interview Guide for Focus Groups

Our interview procedure followed an interview guide approach in which topics and issues are pre-defined while allowing the interviewer to decide on the precise wording and sequence of questions (Patton 2015). In this way, a “rough travel itinerary” (McCracken 1988, p. 37) is provided so that interviews can remain conversational and situational, allowing for an increase in the comprehensiveness of the data. The semi-structured character of the interview guide approach was especially suited for our purpose of conducting interviews in small focus groups, as it “keeps the interactions focused while allowing individual perspectives and experiences to emerge” (Patton 2015, p. 439).

Questions related to the formal curriculum

  • Ask students to elaborate and explain RME in their own words, using free writing.

  • Ask students where they have experienced topics of responsible management education in their study program (e.g., readings, exercise classes, lectures).

  • Ask students where they have experienced responsible management education outside of class at The School, e.g., extracurricular activities (case competitions, student organizations, etc.).

  • Ask students to rate how important they believe responsible management education is at The School, based on their experience in classes and readings on a scale from 1 to 10.

  • Ask students about the importance of responsible management education in relation to exams.

Questions related to interpersonal interactions

  • Ask students to describe the culture within their program.

  • Ask students how they think future employers value responsible management competencies when hiring.

  • Ask students about lecturers and guest lecturers and how they have experienced these lecturers dealing with responsible management education.

Questions related to school governance

  • Ask students how they experience The School’s governance and practices in relation to responsible management education.

  • Ask students if they can provide examples of where The School as an organization engages in responsible management.

  • Ask students if they can provide examples of where The School as an organization can improve its engagement in responsible management.

  • Ask students about the physical environment of The School in relation to responsibility and sustainability efforts.

Appendix 2

See Table 4.

Table 4 Data structure underlying the exploratory study
Full size table

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Høgdal, C., Rasche, A., Schoeneborn, D. et al. Exploring Student Perceptions of the Hidden Curriculum in Responsible Management Education. J Bus Ethics 168, 173–193 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-019-04221-9

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