Abstract
This chapter examines emerging trends and developments of business education in American higher education. The authors trace the genesis of U.S. business education to its medieval roots and explore its progression through historical stages and four industrial revolutions, including the fourth industrial revolution (4IR). Analysis reveals eight mega drivers affecting universities and colleges and creating development opportunities and competitive pressures for change. Drivers range from stagnant enrollments to skyrocketing costs of higher education to the devastating impacts of the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19). In examination of implications of the 4IR and emerging socio-economic trends for B-schools, the chapter discusses developmental outlook and emerging instructional innovations such as flipped classroom, project-based learning, and others.
TopIntroduction
This chapter is written with three objectives in mind: (1) Examine the origins and genesis of American business education as a retrospective foundation of its current strategic landscape and dynamics. (2) Explore the latest socio-economic trends stemming from the unfolding Fourth Industrial Revolution and its impacts on business schools. (3) Analyze the driving forces, trends, and instructional approaches in business education, as well as critical factors, strategic imperatives, and instructional innovations transitioning business education forward.
The major themes in this chapter are organized in two sections. The first of them, Business Education in the U.S.A. and The Fourth Industrial Revolution, traces the origins and genesis of American business education, explores its current strategic landscape and dynamics and examines the impacts of the Fourth Industrial Revolution on business schools. The second section, Disruptions in Business Education: Strategic Imperatives and Instructional Innovations, looks at drivers and dynamics and instructional approaches in business education. There, we discuss such concepts and pedagogies as flipped classroom, project-based learning, service learning, coaching, business incubators, and minimum viable instruction.
American higher education is deeply rooted in history and tradition. The origins of the contemporary western university going to medieval Europe where academic curriculum and research evolved from natural philosophy, logic, medicine, theology, mathematics, astronomy, astrology, law, grammar, rhetoric, to humanism, liberal arts, and other disciplines. With the advent of the First Industrial Revolution, universities started publishing their own research journals and by the 19th century, the German and the French university models had proliferated across Europe and arrived to the U.S. The Humboldtian model, based on liberal ideas centered on freedom, scholarly seminars, and laboratories in universities, has become prominent. Over the past two centuries in modern history, the world’s socio-economic landscape has experienced profound changes under the four industrial revolutions accelerated by globalization.
The ongoing Third and emerging Fourth Industrial Revolution exert strong impacts at the current stage of social-economic development in the U.S. and other leading nations worldwide. Their forces foster dynamic business environment and generate exponential development opportunities. On the other hand, they also bring about the churn of “creative distraction” that, on a massive scale, causes numerous organizations, whole industries, and economic sectors to vanish from the socio-economic and business landscape under the onslaught of competitive forces, innovations, and emerging new industries, business models, and formats. In the wake of these unfolding forces, drivers, dynamics, and the emerging socio-economic landscape, universities and colleges and the whole industry of higher education face new trends, shifting developmental paradigms, and pressures for change.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Experiential Learning: A method of educating through first-hand experience, learning by doing, transformation of experience. Skills, knowledge, and experience are acquired outside of the traditional academic classroom setting, and may include internships, studies abroad, field trips, field research, and service-learning projects.
Creative Distraction: The dismantling or demise of long-standing established practices in order to make way for innovative products, services, technologies, or business models in a competitive business environment. The term coined by Austrian economist Joseph Schumpeter in 1942.
Business Incubator: An organization engaged in the business of supporting and fostering early-stage companies (start-ups) at different developmental phases until the companies have sufficient capabilities financial, human, organizational and physical resources to function on their own.
Flipped Classroom: An instructional methodology involving a blended learning focused on student engagement and active learning, giving the instructor a better opportunity to deal with mixed levels, student difficulties, and differentiated learning preferences during in-class time.
Alternative Educational Platforms: Relatively recent technologically grounded alternatives to traditional higher education. These dynamic and user-friendly platforms, such as YouTube, LinkedIn Learning, Khan Academy, and others challenge traditional universities and colleges that are heavily reliant on classroom instruction in “brick and mortar” environment.
Minimum Viable Instruction (MVI): An integrative instructional approach on innovating the business curriculum. MVI strategy is inspired by the minimum viable product (MVP) strategy used in product development and business models based on lean startup methodologies. MVP is the simplest, smallest product that provides enough value for consumers to adopt and actually pay for it.
Project-Based Learning (PBL): An instructional methodology that encourages students to learn and apply knowledge and skills through an engaging experience in project development or problem solving. PBL presents opportunities for deeper learning in-context and for the development of important skills tied to college and career readiness. Effective PBL is inter-disciplinary, rigorous, and student-centered.