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Article
Publication date: 26 July 2021

Danielle Lake, Phillip M. Motley and William Moner

The purpose of this study is to highlight the benefits and challenges of immersive, design thinking and community-engaged pedagogies for supporting social innovation within higher…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to highlight the benefits and challenges of immersive, design thinking and community-engaged pedagogies for supporting social innovation within higher education; assess the impact of such approaches across stakeholder groups through long-term retrospective analysis of transdisciplinary and cross-stakeholder work; offer an approach to ecosystems design and analysis that accounts for complex system dynamics in higher education partnerships.

Design/methodology/approach

This study uses constructivist grounded theory (Charmaz and Belgrave, 2012) to create a long-term systemic analysis of university innovation efforts. Researchers analysed 37 semi-structured interviews across key stakeholders involved in the design and implementation of the Design Thinking Studio in Social Innovation. Interview subjects include alumni (students), faculty, community partners and administrators. Interviews were coded using constant comparative coding (Mills et al., 2006) to develop and analyse themes. This study includes situated perspectives from the authors who offer their subjective relationship to the Studio’s development.

Findings

This paper assesses the outcomes and design of a transdisciplinary cross-stakeholder social innovation program and extends prior research on the potential and challenges of design thinking and immersive pedagogies for supporting service-learning and community engagement (SLCE) practices within higher education. Qualitative interview results reveal how time, resources and other structural and systemic factors operate across stakeholder groups. The findings address a gap in SLCE and social innovation literature by situating community learning within pedagogical interventions constructed not only for the benefit of students but for community members. The authors conclude that the research on social innovation in higher education could benefit from a more intentional examination of longitudinal effects of innovative pedagogical environments across a broad range of stakeholder perspectives and contexts.

Social implications

This paper identifies how innovative higher education programs are forced to navigate structural, epistemological and ethical quandaries when engaging in community-involved work. Sustainable innovation requires such programs to work within institutional structures while simultaneously disrupting entrenched structures, practices, and processes within the system.

Originality/value

Social innovation in higher education could benefit from harnessing lessons from collective impact and ecosystem design frameworks. In addition, the authors argue higher education institutions should commit to studying longitudinal effects of innovative pedagogical environments across multiple stakeholder perspectives and contexts. This study closes these gaps by advancing an ecosystems model for long-term and longitudinal assessment that captures the impact of such approaches across stakeholder groups and developing an approach to designing and assessing community-involved collaborative learning ecosystems (CiCLE).

Details

Social Enterprise Journal, vol. 18 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1750-8614

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 3 July 2020

Praveena Chandra, Martin Tomitsch and Maryanne Large

The capability to create and manage innovations is recognized as an important skill not only for entrepreneurial activities but also for the survival of organizations. The last…

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Abstract

Purpose

The capability to create and manage innovations is recognized as an important skill not only for entrepreneurial activities but also for the survival of organizations. The last few decades have seen a noticeable growth in innovation education programs across the world. Innovation education is on the cusp of moving from being an optional subject to becoming a part of the core curricula. Given these recent developments, it is timely to review scholarship on innovation education carried out to date. The purpose of this paper is to present a review of the literature on innovation education programs.

Design/methodology/approach

This article employs a systematic and reproducible thematic analysis of the literature.

Findings

The review finds innovation education to be an emerging field with multiple concepts and frameworks in need of consolidation. Additionally, there is a marked dominance of this subject in traditional domains such as engineering, business, medicine and little or no presence in nontraditional domains such as humanities or social sciences. Challenges remain in the field for the development of standardized effectiveness measurement techniques.

Originality/value

This article puts forward a case for considering scholarship on innovation education as a unique field on its own and examines previous work in this domain to understand the emerging frameworks, pedagogy, evaluations and definitions. By doing so, the article aims to offer guidance for the adoption of innovation education, as well as creating a foundation for further research in this area by highlighting the gaps in the existing literature.

Details

European Journal of Innovation Management, vol. 24 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1460-1060

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 13 July 2015

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…

1391

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.

Article
Publication date: 9 November 2015

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.

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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.

Details

Higher Education, Skills and Work-Based Learning, vol. 5 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2042-3896

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 12 February 2018

Kurt Thumlert, Ron Owston and Taru Malhotra

The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of a commissioned research study that analyzed a schooling initiative with the ambitious goal of transforming learning…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of a commissioned research study that analyzed a schooling initiative with the ambitious goal of transforming learning environments across the district by advancing innovative, inquiry-driven pedagogical practices combined with 1:1 iPad distribution. The paper explores impacts of the initiative on pedagogical innovation, twenty-first century learning, and related impacts on professional learning, collaboration, and culture change in the pilot schools analyzed in the study.

Design/methodology/approach

A multi-dimensional case study approach was used to analyze how the initiative was implemented, and to what extent teaching, learning, and professional cultures were transformed, based on action plan inputs and “change drivers”. Research methods included structured, open-ended interviews conducted with randomly selected teachers and key informants in leadership roles, focus groups held with students, as well as analysis of policy documents, student work samples, and other data sources.

Findings

The authors found evidence of a synergistic relationship between innovations in inquiry-driven pedagogy and professional learning cultures, with evidence of increased collaboration, deepened engagement and persistence, and a climate of collegiality and risk-taking at both classroom and organizational levels. Based on initiative inputs, the authors found that innovations in collaborative technology/pedagogy practices in classrooms paralleled similar innovations and transformations in professional learning cultures and capacity-building networks.

Practical implications

This initiative analyzed in this paper provides a case study in large-scale system change, offering a compelling model for transformative policies and initiatives where interwoven innovations in pedagogy and technology mobilization are supported by multiple drivers for formal and informal professional learning/development and networked collaboration. Challenges and recommendations are highlighted in the concluding discussion.

Originality/value

The transformative initiative analyzed in this paper provides a very timely case-model for innovations in twenty-first century learning and, specifically, for enacting and sustaining large-scale system change where inquiry-driven learning and technology tools are being mobilized to support “deep learning”, “new learning partnerships”, and multilevel transformations in professional learning (Fullan and Donnelly, 2013). This research advances scholarly work in the areas of twenty-first century learning, identifying relationships between technology/pedagogy innovation and professional capital building (Hargreaves and Fullan, 2012).

Details

Journal of Professional Capital and Community, vol. 3 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2056-9548

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 16 April 2018

Kathryn Semcow and Jenny Knowles Morrison

This paper aims to explore an adaptation of the National Science Foundation Innovation Corps (I-CorpsTM) program, which uses the Lean Startup methodology to help STEM scientists…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to explore an adaptation of the National Science Foundation Innovation Corps (I-CorpsTM) program, which uses the Lean Startup methodology to help STEM scientists commercialize their research. The adaptation, known as I-Corps for Social Impact (I-Corps SI), extends the for-profit canonical model to include mixed revenue and non-profit business models, to help researchers generate social impact.

Design/methodology/approach

A research team of policy and non-profit experts observed and adapted a canonical I-Corps process, then interviewed academics who are scaling and sustaining socially impactful solutions from their research, including past I-Corps participants, to validate research team learning.

Findings

The paper describes limitations of the I-Corps model and modifications required to enhance social impact.

Practical implications

While the field of social entrepreneurship has grown rapidly over the past few decades, social scientists have lagged behind in translating evidence-based research into solutions that can be scaled and sustained to achieve social impact. The paper presents an evidence-based case for a pedagogical tool to close this gap.

Originality/value

A focus on validated learning and business model development supports a paradigm shift within the social sciences, which can help spur greater social innovation from evidence-based research.

Article
Publication date: 25 September 2023

Alma Harris, Michelle Jones, Cecilia Azorín, Alex Southern, Jeremy Griffiths and Ingileif Ástvaldsdóttir

This article draws upon evidence from a contemporary study of all-through schools (ATS) in three countries. ATS combine at least two stages of a child's education in a single…

Abstract

Purpose

This article draws upon evidence from a contemporary study of all-through schools (ATS) in three countries. ATS combine at least two stages of a child's education in a single establishment. Many admit children aged 3–19. Most children join the school at nursery or kindergarten level and continue there for their entire education before moving on to further or higher education. ATS are also called all-age, in some contexts, because they bring children of all ages together into the same school environment. Models of ATS vary internationally; hence, there is not one definition of an ATS. This article takes a comparative look at ATS in Iceland, Spain and Wales. The purpose of this article is to explore innovative pedagogies in ATS and to explore how far deeper learning occurs because of the integrated and inclusive model of schooling. The study focused on pedagogical practices in ATS and examined how far these innovative practices are considered by teachers to foster deeper learning outcomes.

Design/methodology/approach

The article draws upon a three-year comparative research project that explored pedagogy, leadership and well-being in ATS. The article investigates pedagogy with a cross-cutting focus on enquiry and deeper learning from the perspective of leaders and teachers. Using focus groups and lesson observations, a qualitative case-study approach was utilised to gather evidence about the teaching and learning processes adopted in ATS. Semi-structured interviews were also conducted with school leaders. The analytical approach adopted was one of constant comparison with the prime aim of eliciting common themes across the data sets. In relation to the pedagogy theme and an exploration of pedagogical innovation, research questions included (1) How far do ATS foster innovative pedagogies?, (2) What are the leadership conditions that support innovative pedagogies? and (3) To what extent do innovative pedagogies promote deeper learning?

Findings

Within and across the three education systems under investigation, the study found that all-through schooling engages students in a positive learning environment and provides innovative pedagogical processes associated with deeper learning. The article provides evidence about how deeper learning functions in ATS from different parts of the world and reflects on the way deeper learning is promoted by leaders and teachers, resulting in deeper learning for students. The evidence from this study reinforces that opportunities for pedagogical innovation and deeper learning within ATS occur because of flatter structures, more fluidity between different phases of learning and greater cross-over of teacher expertise. The study also highlights how leadership is a critical factor in creating the conditions for collective professional practices that foster pedagogical innovations to secure deeper learning. Findings suggest that leading for deeper learning is fundamentally concerned with creating the conditions for innovative learning environments that are equitable, inclusive, diverse and cross age ranges.

Originality/value

Contemporary empirical studies of the deeper learning environments within ATS remain relatively rare; hence, this study provides new comparative and contemporary evidence that illuminates the nature of the pedagogical innovation and the leadership practices that support pedagogical innovation in these schools. It also highlights how professional collaboration and cross-phase working are at the heart of innovative pedagogies that support deeper learning. The study outlined in this article provides critical, new insights about pedagogical innovation and deeper learning within ATS settings.

Details

Journal of Educational Administration, vol. 62 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0957-8234

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 9 December 2016

Bethany Alden-Rivers

This chapter proposes a reconceptualization of undergraduate education to support the development of students as agents of positive social change. Social innovation education is…

Abstract

Purpose

This chapter proposes a reconceptualization of undergraduate education to support the development of students as agents of positive social change. Social innovation education is put forward as a new pedagogy for the twenty-first century.

Methodology/approach

The chapter outlines a series of studies carried out at the University of Northampton between 2014 and 2015 to investigate social innovation education as a pedagogical design and practice for undergraduate curricula. Drawing on phenomenography, systematic literature review, and theory building, this chapter sets out conceptual, theoretical, and practical frameworks for designing and facilitating social innovation education.

Findings

Research findings include an ontology for understanding the concept of social innovation education, as well as a set of graduate attributes for designing learning for social change. A model of pedagogical praxis is proposed that supports the development of teaching and learning toward a more critical and socially impactful approach.

Originality/value

Despite some similarities to entrepreneurship and enterprise education, social innovation education is distinctive in its focus on social change-making with or without financial gain. Not only does this chapter present a set of abstract and practical tools for embedding social innovation in an undergraduate program, but also it provides a possible methodology for institutions who wish to embody particular principles within their curricular offerings.

Details

Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Education
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78635-068-8

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 13 March 2009

Fahri Karakas and Mustafa Kavas

The purpose of this paper is to introduce service‐learning 2.0 model based on four new paradigms in the global business landscape: connectivity, creativity, community, and…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to introduce service‐learning 2.0 model based on four new paradigms in the global business landscape: connectivity, creativity, community, and complexity.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper reviews four paradigm shifts and their effects on service‐learning practices and methodology: wikinomics and mass collaboration, collective intelligence and open innovation, appreciative inquiry and positive organizational scholarship (POS), and self‐organizing systems and the new sciences.

Findings

Service‐learning 2.0 can be used to develop our students' twenty‐first century thinking skills through applied community engagement projects, namely: interactivity and interconnectedness, innovation and insight, and inspiration and intuition, integrative and interdisciplinary thinking.

Practical implications

Service‐learning 2.0 principles and pedagogy can help students appreciate and prepare for increasing complexity and paradox of management and organizations in the light of global, social and organizational changes of the twenty‐first century.

Originality/value

Service‐learning 2.0 model represents the pedagogy, principles, and processes that are better suited to the global, technological, and social changes and challenges of the 21st century.

Details

International Journal of Organizational Analysis, vol. 17 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1934-8835

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 4 November 2019

Anugamini Priya Srivastava, Vimal Babu and Swati Krutarth Shetye

The purpose of this paper is to show the relevance of teachers’ extra role behaviour towards improving students’ learning efficacy status. This study examines the intervening role…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to show the relevance of teachers’ extra role behaviour towards improving students’ learning efficacy status. This study examines the intervening role of art-based teaching pedagogies, i.e. involvement of different forms of art during the traditional teaching session between extra role behaviour and students’ learning efficacy.

Design/methodology/approach

The statistical test results showed that teachers’ extra role behaviour is significant for improving and strengthening students’ learning efficacy. Further, the moderation analysis showed that if art is integrated with teachers’ extra role behaviour, the effect on learning efficacy of students will increase. Art-based teaching pedagogies suggest involvement of art in teaching practices. Multiple regression analysis was conducted to evaluate the direct effect of extra role behaviour on students’ learning efficacy with the intervening role of art-based teaching pedagogies.

Findings

Results indicated a linear effect of teachers’ extra role behaviour on students’ learning efficacy and that art-based teaching pedagogies had an indirect effect (mediation) on students’ learning efficacy.

Originality/value

The study will bridge the gap between academic initiatives taken and its overall implementation in primary and secondary schools.

Details

European Journal of Training and Development, vol. 43 no. 9
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2046-9012

Keywords

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