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1 – 10 of 273Bethany Alden Rivers, Alejandro Armellini and Ming Nie
The purpose of this paper is to propose an attributes framework for embedding “Changemaker” – a university initiative for promoting social innovation and social impact – across…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to propose an attributes framework for embedding “Changemaker” – a university initiative for promoting social innovation and social impact – across the disciplines at the University of Northampton.
Design/methodology/approach
The study is based on the authors’ (2015) phenomenographic study that proposed five different conceptions of Changemaker held by academic staff: (1) Changemaker as institutional strategy; (2) Changemaker as critical thinking, perspective shifting and problem solving; (3) Changemaker as employability; (4) Changemaker as social betterment; and (5) Changemaker as personal transformation. The present study explores pedagogic literature to identify skills, behaviours and attributes associated with each of these five categories.
Findings
Findings from this literature review inform a set of Changemaker attributes, which offers a framework to consider skills and behaviours associated with the five conceptions of Changemaker.
Research limitations/implications
The conceptions of Changemaker, that form the basis of the Changemaker attributes, represent the beliefs of teaching staff at the University of Northampton. Despite inherent limitations, the approach of using practice-based empirical findings to develop pedagogical tools may be of direct benefit to other education providers as they develop their own models for teaching and learning.
Practical implications
The Changemaker attributes will be used by the University of Northampton during the design, approval and review of courses to ensure that social innovation and social impact is embedded across the disciplines. Academic staff can refer these attributes when designing assessments and for inspiration towards innovative teaching practice.
Originality/value
The findings of this study will provide a point of reference for other higher education institutions as they look for guidance on embedding social innovation and social impact into their curriculum.
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Bethany Alden Rivers, Ming Nie and Alejandro Armellini
The purpose of this paper is to report on a study aimed at understanding the different conceptions that University of Northampton teachers hold of “Changemaker”, an institutional…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to report on a study aimed at understanding the different conceptions that University of Northampton teachers hold of “Changemaker”, an institutional initiative to develop capacities for social innovation.
Design/methodology/approach
The study took a phenomenographic approach to identify a small number of qualitatively different conceptions of Changemaker among teaching staff. Face-to-face, phenomenographic interviews were carried out with 30 teachers across the university. Transcript data were analysed using thematic inductive analysis.
Findings
Five different conceptions of Changemaker were found: Changemaker as university strategy; Changemaker as critical thinking, perspective shifting and problem solving; Changemaker as employability; Changemaker as social betterment; and Changemaker as personal transformation.
Research limitations/implications
The outcome space of conceptions represents the beliefs of teaching staff at the University of Northampton. The approach to research and plans for the practical application of findings may be of direct benefit to other education providers as they develop their own models for teaching and learning.
Practical implications
The findings from this study will inform the next phase of the project, which involves the development of a skills/attributes/behaviours matrix for social innovation education.
Social implications
An initiative, such as Changemaker, works to enhance the capacities of university students to work as agents of positive social change. By building a research programme around this initiative, the findings from this work can be disseminated and used by other higher education institutions.
Originality/value
The findings of this study will address the absence of literature on teachers’ conceptions of phenomena related to social innovation, social entrepreneurship and intrepreneurship. Understanding teachers’ beliefs of such phenomena is relevant to the growing number of universities that address these subjects in the curriculum.
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This book review seeks to clarify the contribution of the (2022) edited collection, International Models of Changemaker Education, to the field of work-applied management. It…
Abstract
Purpose
This book review seeks to clarify the contribution of the (2022) edited collection, International Models of Changemaker Education, to the field of work-applied management. It proposes that the many international models of changemaker education described in this book offer management professionals an array of innovative methods which support workplace learning and change by fostering organizational and educational flexibility.
Design/methodology/approach
This book review frames the collection's contribution in the context of work-applied management by systematically reviewing its chapter in order to present their relevance to conversations in and adjacent to the field.
Findings
This book review provides insights into how changemaker education might be conceived of and utilized in work-applied management contexts as drawn from the many innovative and demiurgic methods described in the collection and its chapters.
Research limitations/implications
Changemaker education is a wide-ranging theoretical perspective, which is often loosely defined across contexts. However, this lexical amorphousness provides important flexibility for an expanded range of theoretical application.
Practical implications
This review includes important implications for the development of work-applied management theories drawn from models of changemaker education that demonstrate methods for achieving organizational agility and flexibility.
Originality/value
This review provides new and innovate models of use to work-applied management theorists and professionals.
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Rachel Maxwell and Alejandro Armellini
The purpose of this paper is to introduce an evidence-based, transferable framework of graduate attributes and associated university toolkit to support the writing of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to introduce an evidence-based, transferable framework of graduate attributes and associated university toolkit to support the writing of level-appropriate learning outcomes that enable the university to achieve its mission to Transform Lives + Inspire Change.
Design/methodology/approach
An iterative process of co-design and co-development was employed to produce both the framework and the associated learning outcomes toolkit.
Findings
There is tangible benefit in adopting an integrated framework that enables students to develop personal literacy and graduate identity. The toolkit enables staff to write assessable learning outcomes that support student progression and enable achievement of the framework objective.
Research limitations/implications
While the framework has been in use for two years, institutional use of the toolkit is still in its early stages. Phase 2 of the project will explore how effectively the toolkit achieves the framework objective.
Practical implications
The introduction of a consistent, integrated framework enables students to develop and actively increase personal literacy through the deliberate construction of their unique graduate identity.
Social implications
Embedding the institutional Changemaker attributes alongside the agreed employability skills enables students to develop and articulate specifically what it means to be a “Northampton graduate”.
Originality/value
The uniqueness of this project is the student-centred framework and the combination of curricular, extra- and co-curricular initiatives that provide a consistent language around employability across disciplines. This is achieved through use of the learning outcomes toolkit to scaffold student progression.
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Christopher Ansell, Eva Sørensen and Jacob Torfing
This chapter draws out lessons regarding how the diagnosis of urgent problems, the formation of ambitious and visionary goals, and the participation of stakeholders with critical…
Abstract
This chapter draws out lessons regarding how the diagnosis of urgent problems, the formation of ambitious and visionary goals, and the participation of stakeholders with critical innovation assets stimulate the cocreation of innovative solutions that promote the SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals), and how changemakers can lead and manage cocreated innovation processes. It considers the initiation of innovation processes and the design and testing of innovative solutions as well as the upscaling and diffusion of new successful products, processes and organizational forms. Finally, it identifies several common pitfalls that are important for changemakers to avoid, including an assumption of the necessity for heroic leadership, failure to include relevant actors, overly strict and detailed plans and procedures, and inability to integrate newcomers.
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José Carlos Vázquez-Parra, Juan Alberto Amézquita-Zamora and María Soledad Ramírez-Montoya
The objective of the study was to analyze the perception of knowledge and experience development in social entrepreneurship in students of a university certified by Ashoka as a…
Abstract
Purpose
The objective of the study was to analyze the perception of knowledge and experience development in social entrepreneurship in students of a university certified by Ashoka as a Changemaker campus and to identify data that argue for equitable training among all students regardless of gender and discipline studied.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors evaluated the perception of knowledge about social entrepreneurship of a group of students from a university certified as Ashoka Changemaker Campus to check if there are differences by gender and disciplinary area. The population was 140 students, to whom a validated instrument was applied.
Findings
The results shed light on the few differences among students in the business, engineering and health sciences disciplines compared to those enrolled in the humanities and social sciences concerning knowledge and experience in social entrepreneurship. The findings also indicate gender equality in the perception of knowledge and experience of innovation and social entrepreneurship.
Research limitations/implications
The sample size in the different disciplinary areas is a limitation of this research. However, the findings are valuable in terms of gender and the study being conducted in the first university certified as a Changemaker Campus in Latin America.
Practical implications
Underlying the statistics and the hypotheses is important in improving students' experience and expanding their equitable opportunities to learn about and implement innovative proposals for social entrepreneurship projects.
Social implications
Training in equality and inclusion contributes to an equitable and socially just society, especially when this training aims to bring new possibilities to society. This study links with those that have been conducted in other institutions, where conscious efforts have been made to reduce the gender gap or differences by disciplinary area when undertaking social entrepreneurship projects that connect sectors for social benefit. This research also argues for the need to identify the impact of other cultural elements, in addition to the knowledge provided by universities, that reduce the gap among their students.
Originality/value
This study is original because of its hypotheses about university students' social entrepreneurship projects, being conducted in a special environment (Ashoka Changemaker campus) in Latin America. The data were analyzed under hypothesis testing, contrasting the empirical evidence with the theoretical assumptions.
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Bethany Alden Rivers, Alejandro Armellini, Rachel Maxwell, Sue Allen and Chris Durkin
– The purpose of this paper is to propose a theoretical framework to support the embedding of social innovation education in existing academic programmes.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to propose a theoretical framework to support the embedding of social innovation education in existing academic programmes.
Design/methodology/approach
By adopting Conole et al.’s (2004) methodological approach to reviewing, mapping and modelling learning theory, this study addresses four research questions: how can social innovation education be defined? Which learning theories best support social innovation education? How do such learning theories relate to existing models of learning in higher education? What implications does a social innovation pedagogy have for learning design?
Findings
Findings suggest that social innovation education is supported by a praxis that is grounded in critical learning theory, transformational learning theory and epistemological development. By extending Conole et al.’s (2004) model of learning theory, the present study proposes a “zone of pedagogical praxis for social innovation education” that supports learning design on a more critical plane.
Research limitations/implications
The proposed model of learning may be of interest to other universities as they work towards stronger thinkers and stronger communities.
Practical implications
Using a theory-informed model for learning design nurtures a pedagogical praxis and underpins the development of a practical toolkit for designing social innovation education.
Originality/value
The findings of this study will provide a point of reference for other higher education institutions as they look for guidance on embedding principles of social innovation into their curricula.
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The purpose of this paper is to describe the development and delivery of a talent‐development program that cuts across cultural expectations and challenges the learning styles of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to describe the development and delivery of a talent‐development program that cuts across cultural expectations and challenges the learning styles of the participants.
Design/methodology/approach
Draws on the global experience of ChangeMaker International and successfully adapts a western experiential learning style for an Asian market. Brings the 70‐20‐10 principle of effective development to a new population.
Findings
Describes the obstacles and challenges and celebrates the successes achieved now the first batch has graduated, the second batch is mid‐program and the third batch has just entered.
Practical implications
Points out some of the lessons ChangeMaker has learned working with the Chinese over the last two and a half years.
Originality/value
Demonstrates how a partnership can be developed with a client on the other side of the globe and how persistence with the learning method has shown benefits for the participants and their business.
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Christopher Ansell, Eva Sørensen and Jacob Torfing
This chapter argues that failure to secure accountability can be costly because it raises doubts about the fairness, salience, and impact of cocreation. Cocreation must establish…
Abstract
This chapter argues that failure to secure accountability can be costly because it raises doubts about the fairness, salience, and impact of cocreation. Cocreation must establish accountability with respect to four different audiences: sponsors, relevant stakeholders, affected citizens, and the general public. The chapter discusses the challenges of trying to solely hold cocreation networks and partnerships accountable based on formal accountability mechanisms. It argues that these formal mechanisms must be supplemented with social and more informal strategies of accountability. Finally, the chapter considers how changemakers can strengthen social and informal accountability in and around cocreating networks and partnerships.
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