"Finding the red thread" : The role of the learning space in transformative learning in executive education

Abstract

This action research study was conducted over four years and investigates the nature of the teaching-learning environment in executive education in a business school in Scandinavia and its relation to transformative learning. This theme emerged from the practical experience of the author as a facilitator and academic responsible for leader development programme (LDP) in a business school in Scandinavia. Three approaches within the adult learning literature form the focal theory for this research project. They are from within the field of adult education/life long learning, from constructivist research into enhancing teaching-learning environments, and from transformative learning theory and form the basis to engage with adult learning as a process of critical reflection, of how teaching-learning environments can be enhanced in higher education, and of the relevance of creating opportunities for transformative learning in graduate education. The current issues confronting these fields are highlighted in the literature review to identify how the study builds on existing knowledge and extends what is known about transformative learning in enhancing a TLE in executive education. The tradition of British constructivist research on teaching-learning contexts and the American tradition of transformative learning have not been brought together in the context of a European post-graduate executive teaching-learning environment. Nor have the theories of adult learning emerging from the work of Jarvis (2004) and Illeris (2006) been combined with the previous two traditions in the context of a business school post-graduate context. Hence, in the light of the organisation development project, this research will investigate the nature of teaching-learning environments in executive education and its relation to learning spaces that can provide opportunities for transformative learning to occur. The dual purpose of the study is: to explore how a leader development programme can enhance the TLE of an EMBA, so that relevant and workable solutions can be developed; and to translate this learning into the development of a conceptual framework to create opportunities for transformative learning to occur. The research project focused on consolidating and enhancing an existing programme within an executive masters in business administration (EMBA). It was during the research project, in conversations, interviews, discussion groups, workshops and archival data that students explicitly referred to the distinctive characteristics of the LDP learning space as being instrumental in its impact on their overall leader development and EMBA learning experience. Hence, transformative learning as a phenomenon emerging out of practice and its relation to the learning space of the LDP became the subject of this investigation. The outcomes confirm the importance of achieving congruence within the teaching-learning environment, of integrating the individual and interactive dimensions of learning within the learning space for adults, in a way that also includes recognition and support when the ‘inner self’ and the ‘outer world’ are in conflict as a direct result of our learning experiences. The implication of this suggests that business schools must pay particular attention to the learning space created within executive education programmes. There is a clear need for a framework for creating a distinctive learning space in executive education to ensure opportunities for transformative learning to occur. This study is original and contributes to knowledge generally in adult education, and to the tradition of critical reflection. A particular contribution is to the area of transformative learning and to the development of a framework for creating a distinctive learning space in executive education, and to the key roles of the learning team in respect of the learning space. The learning team coupled with a range of components that must be employed within the learning space in order to implement the experience, emerged as a distinct contribution to the area of transformative learning. The learning team must understand that its role is to enhance personal leader development and, then, to work with support systems, including mentors, in a collaborative effort to enhance the learning experience of everyone in the team. Here, trusted relationships among members of the learning team are essential to the development of dialogue, critical reflection and profound discourse. Facilitation of the learning team toward enhancing its performance is necessary to support a learning space where the opportunity for transformative learning can occur.