Enhancing PRME Integration through Curriculum Mapping and Refection at the University of Plymouth, UK - A Case Study

In this informative blog, Andrew Hunt, Associate Head of School (Undergraduate) at Plymouth Business School, University of Plymouth, offers actionable insights on enhancing PRME that will be of value to Signatories across the UK, Ireland, and beyond.

Introduction

This case study outlines a structured methodology for embedding PRME and sustainability more generally into undergraduate business and management education. The objective is to systematically align content, delivery and assessment with PRME values, ensuring that students graduate with a strong foundation in responsible management education and equipped with the skills to apply and develop their knowledge as they progress through their graduate careers. This triple focus, on content, delivery and assessment deepens the alignment with three different ‘languages’ used in different forums.

1. The language of the UN SDGs and the Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME) agenda i.e. focussing on address global challenges inhibiting the creations of  sustainable, prosperous and equitable world.

   
   

2. A set of “Responsible Management Education Criteria” that aim to foster the cultivation of curriculum content that future managers and leaders should possess, underpinning strong sense of social responsibility and the capability to contribute positively to both business and society. These criteria were developed for this project. This language supports the linking of responsible management education to subject specific framing documents such as Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) benchmark statements, professional body requirements and subject-spanning documents such as university and government level education strategies.

   
   

3. Education for Sustainable Development Delivery, or pedagogic methods that are relevant to the delivery and assessment of high-quality responsible management education.

The initial purpose of the mapping and reflection project was to provide Plymouth Business School with a baseline understanding of how programmes and modules are supporting students in the above areas as and to trigger an iterative process of continual improvement. Our context here is an undergraduate Higher Education curriculum however, the same methodology can be readily applied to both taught postgraduate and Further Education contexts. The approach incorporates partnership working, and builds upon past work of others, as it incorporates a well established, and widely respected, curriculum mapping process conducted, and developed, by Students Organising for Sustainability UK (SOS-UK).

Many universities are, rightly, aiming to enhance their commitment to sustainability and responsible education. While PRME principles have been integrated in to a large number programmes throughout the world, with many having been documented and successfully disseminated through the PRME community, is no agreement on the best way to do this, it is hoped that this case study will contribute to this important agenda. Our approach is based on the belief that success is more likely to be achieved through the use of process focussed upon continuous improvement and reflection rather than a single point in time mapping followed by a single action plan.

Part of our approach is to recognise that the assessment and meeting of learning outcomes education embedded within any degree programme is not a endpoint but rather a jumping off point; their achievement should mark the start of successful graduate career development journey. Our graduates should be empowered lifelong learners who are both concerned about, and capable of, continual development oriented to responsible futures. 

Methodology: An Innovative Approach to Curriculum Mapping

This curriculum mapping initiative represents a significant innovation in responsible management education. Unlike traditional sustainability audits that frequently focus upon SDG alignment, this project introduced a broader and more comprehensive framework, incorporating a wider set of responsible management education criteria. This enhanced approach ensures a more holistic integration of sustainability and responsible management principles within the curriculum.

The university partnered with SOS-UK to conduct an initial curriculum mapping exercise.  SOS have a long history of completing SDG mappings and are skilled at writing a report that identifies strengths, gaps, and opportunities for deeper integration of PRME values.  Their, independently manged, mapping was student-led, gathering student perceptions of PRME alignment rather than self-reported academic views or perceptions. Student views were elicited through their auditing student facing module guide documentation including comprehensive student-facing information such as learning outcomes, weekly session descriptions, key reading material, explanation of delivery and pedagogic methods and assessment information c.f. the more academic facing module descriptors / records. 

The methodology for the mapping of the SDGs and ESD criteria was developed by Students Organising for Sustainability in partnership with the University of Winchester and Winchester Students’ Union. The SDG specifications were those used by the UN and the ESD methods were developed by SOS using the Advance HE and QAA ESD Guidance (2021).

Student auditors mapped around 150 modules against the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Plymouth’s Responsible Management Education criteria, and methods used in Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). Before starting the mapping process students attended a face to face training workshop exploring the SDGs, the role of education in contributing to sustainability, how to critically engage with SDGs, and how to map module specifications against the 17 SDGs, our set of 7 criteria on Responsible Management Education and 5 ESD methods. Student auditors reviewed the module specifications to identify; To what extent the themes encompassed by the SDGs are covered (a little / implicitly, a lot / explicitly or not covered); whether ESD pedagogies, or methods, are used or not included; and, whether each of the broader responsible management education criteria outlined above were incorporated or not.

The Responsible Management Education criteria

The Responsible Management Education criteria were developed by the author specifically for this mapping and are a key innovation of this project, broadening the scope of the mapping, to move beyond the SDGs to provide deeper insights into how business education fosters responsible leadership and ethical decision-making. These criteria aim to collectively support the shaping of responsible management education to cultivate future managers and leaders who possess, and are capable of further developing, a strong sense of social responsibility equipping them to contribute positively to both business and society.

• Ethical Leadership: Emphasizing the development of ethical decision-making skills and the ability to manage and lead with integrity. Responsible management education promotes managers and leaders who prioritize ethical conduct, transparency, and accountability.

  
  

• Sustainable Development: Fostering an understanding of the interdependencies between business activities and sustainable development goals. It involves equipping students with knowledge and tools to identify and address environmental, social, and economic challenges and appreciate the linkages to long-term business and organisational viability.

  
  

• Social Impact: Encouraging awareness of the social implications of business decisions and actions. Responsible management education focuses on creating positive social change, promoting diversity and inclusion, and addressing social inequalities.

  
  

• Stakeholder Engagement: Recognizing the significance of engaging and collaborating with various stakeholders, including employees, communities, customers, and investors.  This criterion emphasizes the importance of understanding and incorporating diverse perspectives and interests into decision making.

  
  

• Global Perspective: Nurturing a global mindset by providing opportunities for cross-cultural learning and understanding.  Responsible management education equips students with the skills to navigate diverse cultural contexts and embrace the challenges and opportunities of the global marketplace.

  
  

• Corporate Governance: Instilling knowledge about the principles and practices of effective corporate governance. Responsible management education emphasizes the importance of responsible decision-making, risk management, and ensuring the long-term sustainability and success of organizations.

  
  

• Innovation and Creativity: Encouraging innovative thinking and creativity as essential elements of responsible management. This criterion promotes the development of solutions that address societal and environmental challenges, while also considering the economic viability of business ventures.

  
  

The Methods for Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) Criteria

The ESD delivery methods, developed by SOS based on Advance HE and QAA guidance are relevant to responsible management education and also have a much wider applicability as methods necessary, but not sufficient, for ‘good delivery’. The five methods are:

• Problem-based learning. A range of learning opportunities that use real-world issues and / or problems to improve knowledge and understanding.

  
  

• Experiential project work. A range of learning opportunities that use real-life scenarios possibly with a live client and / or elements of fieldwork.

  
  

• Simulations. A range of structured or semi-structured approaches that simulate real-life situations that allow students to explore approaches in a safe learning environment.

  
  

• Case studies. A rage of learning approaches that include a narrative pedagogy that encourages students to interpret experiences and / or share experiences.

  
  

• Stimulus activities. A range of activities, not covered above, that are designed to activity engage students with activities that spark discussion, analysis and problem solving.

Key Outcomes and reflections on the Innovative Mapping Approach

The key outcomes and positive impacts of the mapping and subsequent reflection were:

• Creating the capability to measure the current position, any increase over time, in responsible management content across programmes and modules. There was a recognition from programme leaders that repeating the mapping in future years would yield useful data to both monitor progress and identify areas for improvement.  Programme leaders also appreciated seeing data for other programmes viewing this as an informal benchmark.

  
  

• Results were widely perceived as authentic and reliable due to the mapping being student led rather than based upon academics self-reporting at module or programme level.

  
  

• Discussions based on a pure SDG mapping would have focussed more upon the acquisition of subject content. The innovative mapping approach with its expanded the scope including responsible management education criteria such as ethical leadership and governance, focussed curriculum enhancement discussions towards a more future-oriented curriculum founded upon student skills and capability in the workplace. 

  
  

• Workshops with school management and programme leaders created a greater staff awareness of the need to embed responsible management and sustainability principles into module and programmes and the confidence to move forward with actions.

  
  

• For sustained progress to be achieved Universities may find it advantageous to drive audits of this type through an institutional commitment, including leadership support and resource allocation. There is a need to generate benchmark data in this area as outcomes are not routinely measured by traditional metrics (c.f. for example Student Satisfaction, Employability / Graduate Outcomes and meeting professional body requirements).

  
  

• Our experience of the mapping process suggests that at least two student auditors should be used for each module. This is to mitigate the impact of measurement error and subconscious biases. Around 1 in 7 of our modules received this treatment and the existence of slightly different assessments from each auditor was notable. This suggested that without a robustness check results should only be reported at an aggregated level.

  
  

• A innovation would be to ask the auditors to include text commentary for each module, in our case that auditors flagged any questions that arose during the process and occasionally noted things such as the a module having potential of being a sign of good practice, amplifying the student voice in this area would generate useful information for programme and portfolio leads.

  
  

Conclusion

Curriculum mapping, facilitated by SOS-UK, has proven to be an effective methodology for systematically embedding PRME principles within the undergraduate business curriculum. The expansion of mapping criteria to include broader responsible management education principles represents a significant innovation in sustainability education.

Business schools looking to strengthen their responsible management education strategies should consider:

• Conducting regular curriculum mapping exercises with a broader, more comprehensive set of responsible education criteria covering areas such as ethics, stakeholder engagement, governance and creativity.

  
  

• Engaging diverse stakeholders, including students, faculty, and industry partners in a process of co-creation alongside eliciting their interpretation of needs and current positions should lead to better outcomes.

  
  

• Provision of faculty / university support, and the expectation of auditing is likely to improve outcomes as baseline data is not routinely otherwise reported. A commitment to a process of improvement is preferred to single point audits.

Andrew Hunt – andrew.hunt@plymouth.ac.uk

Associate Head of School (Undergraduate)

Plymouth Business School

University of Plymouth, UK