Prospects and Possibilities of Critical Management Education: Critical Beings and a Pedagogy of Critical Action

Abstract

The critical management studies project has generated considerable controversy in the scholarly community in terms of its place in the management and organization domain. Its educational counterpart, critical management education (CME), similarly has aroused debate among those in the management education and learning arena. Typically operationalized as critical pedagogy, CME raises a number of issues concerning the delivery of management curricula in institutional and organizational settings around the world. This article addresses these issues in terms of Barnett's (Higher Education: A Critical Business, 1997) conception of students as critical beings, that is, students capable of thinking critically, reflecting critically, and engaging in critical action. An American undergraduate course, focusing especially on critical action as a mechanism for social change, offers the opportunity to explore the prospects and possibilities of CME in a university curriculum. Students adopted a questioning stance, undertook individual and collaborative critical action projects, and reflected critically on the process. The insights derived from this critical pedagogy endeavor to advance the dialogue on CME beyond previous accounts centered largely on critical reflection into the realm of social change.