Learning in a Social Context

It has been said that business education is at a crossroads, but the problem is not simply that it finds itself at this crossroads. The problem, and the challenge, is knowing where to go from here. This study shows us not only that it is possible to find viable paths that make sense, but also that these paths can be an inspiration to others. Beyond the specific experiences reflected herein, this resource shows that innovation in business education—especially as relates to integrating responsibility and sustainability criteria—requires that we simultaneously take into account two parameters: content and context.

In the pages that follow, readers will encounter major changes with regard to content. The idea is not to improve an existing discipline or to incorporate a new one, but rather to enable students to integrate lessons that they often learn on their own, and to develop capacities and competencies that directly link to responsibility and sustainability. Readers will also find major changes with regard to context: the core of learning and the accumulation of experiences no longer take place in the classroom but in the “social” environment, where the very reality in which students act is a main catalyst of learning.