Creating Breadth in Business Education Through Service-Learning

Abstract

We argue service-learning pedagogy and the associated educational experiences provide a partial solution to the significant problem of narrowness in business education. Service-learning pedagogy seeks to balance academic rigor with practical relevance, set in a context of civic engagement, which furnishes students with a broader and, we argue, richer, educational experience. We present four specific critiques of business education: (1) the business curriculum focuses on functional and discrete rather than cross-functional and holistic knowledge; (2) coursework emphasizes practical problem-solving “tool kits” rather than deep theoretical knowledge; (3) the underlying paradigm of business education views humanity and human interactions in purely transactional terms; (4) the grounding morality of business education asserts the supremacy of shareholder wealth. Based on our collective experience with service-learning, we believe that the pedagogy presents a needed counterpoint to the narrow focus of business education. The four Rs of service-learning: Reality, Reflection, Reciprocity, and Responsibility each yield a broader educational and experience base for students.