Critical realist action research and humanistic management education

College

Ramon V. Del Rosario College of Business

Department/Unit

Management and Organization Department

Document Type

Article

Source Title

Humanistic Management Journal

Volume

3

First Page

71

Last Page

90

Publication Date

2018

Abstract

In line with its institutional commitments and in order to strengthen the relevance of its business education program in addressing the persistent social challenges facing the Philippines, Mission University (not its real name) revised its Master of Business Administration (MBA) curriculum in 2012. A core change in the curriculum was the incorporation of action research training and the requirement for graduation of implementing and defending an action research project. The introduction of action research, which is based on critical realist philosophy of science, was intended to enable the university’s MBA graduates to become reflexive and humanistic agents of change in their work contexts through the application of observation, critical reflection, collaborative analysis and action and scholarly skills. The implementation of the action research requirement is beginning to yield positive results based on the types of projects implemented by the students and their resulting sense of efficacy in the workplace. Challenges in implementation include the need to further hone student skills in pursuing more emancipatory projects and the need to further orient faculty in the critical realist philosophy underlying action research, as distinct from traditional positivism.

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Disciplines

Business

Keywords

Business education; Action research in education

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