Exploring an alternative: Foucault-Chokr's unlearning approach to management education

Abstract

This paper develops Chokr's theory of unlearning on the basis of empirical data, which suggests that the current understanding of management education is often restricted to a pro-business discourse that privileges what Foucault termed “dominant knowledge”. Along the lines of Chokr's philosophical argument, the empirical findings reveal that the conventional approach to management education may pose an obstacle to responsible and sustainable management, and hence learning becomes the problem of which it is purported to be the solution, within the predominant discourse. It is proposed that a radical version of unlearning can help alleviate this predicament. With the help of the empirical study, we propose three suggestions. First, unlearning assists management students to develop a capability to “see the unseen”. Second, unlearning equips managers and management students with the capability to approach knowledge in a reflexive way. Third, unlearning should be to promote an environment wherein practitioners can radically question existing and institutionalized practices, and ultimately generate engaged citizens with ecological awareness.