Controversy Teaching Approaches in Management Education

Abstract

Teaching that includes controversial topics is a potentially powerful method in the management classroom and can develop students’ skills in areas such as critical thinking and communication. Controversy is implicit to leadership and management roles in workplaces where multiple views and goals exist. The present multipart study presents a new instrument to measure controversy teaching approaches and explores evidence for the reliability and validity of the measure. In addition, the relationship between the controversy teaching approaches and outcomes, such as learning, teaching effectiveness, and instructor credibility, is examined. The validity and reliability of the new instrument was supported in three studies with samples of management and leadership students across multiple U.S. institutions. Multiple perspectives (balance versus bias) and avoidance were found to be two dimensions of controversy teaching approaches that predict various teaching outcomes. The controversy teaching approaches and instruments can support further research, as well as instructional development for management educators.