Learning and teaching research methods in management education: Development of a curriculum to combine theory and practice – a Swiss case

Abstract

Purpose

In the context of the creation of a two-year Master of Science in Business Administration programme to offer a scientifically sound and practice-related management education in Switzerland, a curriculum for learning and teaching research methods had to be designed. Major pedagogic challenges were identified and addressed by curricular responses in terms of pluralism in knowledge production forms, a holistic approach to competence development and a learner-centred course design. The resulting design of the part of the curriculum on research methods is presented. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

To assess the outcomes and its response to the given challenges, the feedback from existing regular evaluations was used and additional surveys were conducted. Students’ perceptions and those of their teachers were combined to form a balanced view.

Findings

The results indicate that the new curriculum is an appropriate approach- it led to gains in research methods knowledge and skills and improvements in research-related social and reflexive competencies. The assessment of the outcomes of learning research methods in management education reveals an interesting research gap.

Originality/value

This paper assesses a newly developed research curriculum for management students implemented in a new master’s programme in Business Administration at a mid-size university of applied sciences in Switzerland. Three pedagogical challenges in teaching research methods were addressed to target the theory-practice gap in management education. The authors opted for a research methods curriculum that links management research and practice by encouraging pluralism in knowledge-production forms, a more holistic view of competence development in management education and a learning-centred course design.

Citation

Hoidn, S. and Olbert-Bock, S. (2016), "Learning and teaching research methods in management education: Development of a curriculum to combine theory and practice – a Swiss case", International Journal of Educational Management, Vol. 30 No. 1, pp. 43-62. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJEM-08-2014-0117