Developing wisdom in future managers: encouraging practical wisdom via voluntary engagement during undergraduate business education

Abstract

Employers report that despite knowledge, graduating students are initially unable to act wisely in the workplace. They lack practical wisdom or phronesis (Aristotle’s term). We contribute an exploration of the role of university education in encouraging this practical wisdom to develop. Through increased voluntary student engagement students moved from demonstrating knowledge of theory towards showing a context-specific practical wisdom. The additional voluntary activities had greater engagement and reflection with formative feedback. Those who voluntarily engaged were the more successful of the students by the programme end. Activities and assessments were designed to focus on practical wisdom. University learning designers should find ways to increase student engagement, feedback and reflection in their programmes so as to develop practical wisdom. We set a tentative research agenda to carry out more work on the role of engagement, activities to encourage voluntary engagement and how to measure practical wisdom.