Teaching Leadership and Ethics to Adults1

Running Head: Teaching Leadership and Ethics to Adults

Teaching Leadership and Ethics to Adults

Ray. S. Jones

The Citadel

College of Graduate and Professional Studies

May 2007

Abstract

This paper addresses the question “What concepts and practices are particularly relevant to the teaching of leadership and ethics for adult learners?” The graduate course Leadership and Ethics: Organizational Development (Business Special Topics and Industrial/Organizational Psychology Special Topics course) was offered in Spring 2007 by the author. Preparation for the course included content relevant materials in leadership and ethical theory, as well as research into and application of the adult learning paradigm. The graduate students taking “Leadership and Ethics” are adults. A healthy body of literature establishes that adults learn in a qualitatively different manner than the pre-adult or young adult students who comprise the ranks of the undergraduate classes of South Carolina Low Country institutions. The adult learning approach is termed “andragogy” and has specific benefits for the teaching of ethics and leadership. This paper explores the andragological concepts relevant to the teaching of leadership and ethics as they were applied to the graduate course Leadership and Ethics at The Citadel in Spring 2007.

Teaching Leadership and Ethics to Adults

Ray. S. Jones

The Citadel, School of Business

INTRODUCTION

The graduate course Leadership and Ethics: Organizational Development (Business Special Topics and Industrial/Organizational Psychology Special Topics course) was offered in Spring 2007 by the author. The graduate students taking “Leadership and Ethics” were adults, and a robust body of literature establishes that adults learn in a qualitatively different manner than the pre-adult students who comprise the ranks of traditional undergraduate classes. The adult learning approach is termed “andragogy” and has specific benefits for the teaching of ethics and leadership. As proponent for applying the ideas, theories, and research of andragogy to the education of adult students I decided to examine my own effortas the course was being taught. My idea was based on a journal article that I felt spoke volumes to practitioners in my field of management and organizational psychology. I believed my coursewas designed and being taught using the andragological methods of Knowles (1977) and Meizrow (1991). The article, It’s called andragogy, by Forrest and Peterson, (2006) seemed to me an interesting benchmark to measure my efforts. Therefore, I drew on Forrest and Peterson’s explanation of four of Knowles’ andragological concepts as an informal qualitative measure from which to check my course design in action. The analysis is my own work subject to my own bias, but motivated by two factors. First a genuine desire to provide andragological experience to the graduate students who participate in my courses, and second an authentic appreciation of Forrest and Peterson’s effort to further the cause of adult education.

THE ARGUMENT FOR ANDRAGOGY

Considerable literature demonstrates that through primary schooling and the early undergraduate years the pre-adult student accumulates information in a more quantitative than qualitative manner. In other words, the physiological capability and the educational processaremore oriented on collecting knowledge to builda data base than to allow time to reflect on that knowledge (Craik & Bailystok, 2006). The outcome of this process is that the relativistic thought necessary for mature decision making is developed through the liberal education process of the later undergraduate education (Chickering & Reisser, 1993). Thus, as educators we expect the developing undergraduates to become more thoughtful, to develop critical thinking skills, and to be able to differentiate from their early received knowledge as their identities develop. This process seems to adequately accommodatecognitive developmentand the desired American social moral development (Rest & Thoma, 1985). The development of autonomy follows in that the eventual college graduate should be an individual reflective of parental and social values, but not a hologram of their early developmental experiences.

Therefore, an adult who appears in a graduate management class is a composite of this prior development, but with adult potential capacities and capabilities that reflect the growing and subsequentmaturity that each have experienced.

The average graduate student at The Citadel has been out of college and in the work force at least five years. In Spring 2007, the average age of the graduate class was31. These are young adults with the increasing capacity to make sense of the world from a position of personal identity. Making sense of the world from a position of personal identity, rather than from predisposed position is a hallmark of adult level cognition. A particular ability of adult level cognition has been termed reflective judgment by Karen Kitchener and Patricia King (1981). Subsequent research (see Kitchener & King, 1994 and King & Kitchener, 2002) successfully described the development of complex reasoning during the late adolescent and early adult developmental periods, and established that many adults have developed epistemological assumptions that they will use to make judgments about ill-structured problems. The andragological practitioner, an educator who works with adult learners, has this potential to work with, much as the pedagological practitioner, an educator who works with children and young adolescents, has an enormous capacity for memorization and association to work with (Knowles, 1977). The capacity for memorization and association is, of necessity, the foundation for subsequent academic maturity.

As noted earlier, reasoning is a cognitive process, dependent upon brain structures to connect, store, process, and retrieve relevant information; and this is age and experience dependent. The adult student has passed earlier physiological developmental milestones, and can potentially maximize reflective judgment capabilities in the classroom.Conscious, unconscious, and preconscious knowing and learning and the adult’s interpretation of self cannot be separated from reflection. Conscious knowledge is of course available. However, the store of unconscious and preconscious knowledge sets the adult apart from the adolescent. Unconscious and preconscious knowledge has long been described by neuroscientists. Consider the amnesiac who remembers nothing of his conscious memories such as address, last meal, or plans for tomorrow, yet retains a full set of the unconscious knowledge acquired prior to the amnesia event (Reber, Gitelman, Parrish, & Mesulam, 2003). These non-conscious categories of knowledge consist of tacit and performance knowledge that accumulate with time, especially time in the work force. These knowledges include operating machinery, driving a car, or recognizing subtle changes in seasons. These knowledges, although not easily described are the mark of the expert. These differentiate the journeyman from the artisan, and are of much importance to the adult on the job.

Hoare (2006) described the implications of conscious, unconscious, and preconscious knowing and learning operations by noting that the adult “…in terms of motivation and with respect to perceptual cognitive filters. . .operates as the control who selects, reviews, revises, and sometimes rejects what is received and sometimes assimilated” (p. 13). Thus, the adult is the cognitive filter for subsequent learning, as opposed to the parent, instructor, or supervisor. The adult, like the amnesiac, possesses an ever increasing store of tacit and performance knowledge that is not directly applied to verbal reasoning, but is applied as expertise to problem solving. Observing only conscious knowledge in adult learners is akin to only reading the dust jacket on a book.

Second, the adult sense of self exists within the identity the adult has developed. “Who am I and how do I fit in the world around me.” This is a complex concept to explain in this paper, but for the purposes here, Merriam and Yang (1996, p. 66) used“personal agency” todescribe outcomes from learning that is pertinent here. Merriam and Yang used data from the National Longitudinal Survey of the High School Class of 1972 (n = 12,800), which collected data in 1974(n = 6,087) and 1986 (6,087). They reported on the co-variances of items that reflected autonomy versus dependence, authority over information, and internal locus of control[1], identifying this as personal agency. The findings of the study provide strong support for approaching the education of adults distinctly from that of adolescents where work experiences and educational attainment were significant predictors of political and social participation and personal agency. Higher levels of personal agency would be reflective of increased feelings of autonomy and independence, and higher internal locus of control. At this point, it must be noted that an optimum has been stated. Many adults will attain the introspection and perspectives to make decisions from a neutral position, some will not. Dependence and external locus of control are individual differences, and in a given group of students some will solidly operate from this position. As Kegan (1994) observed, psychological demands of life demand different individual responses. The adult classroom can be as diverse as the undergraduate classroom, but with a different set of potentials.

FOUR andragological concepts

There have been a number of excellent writings over the past forty-seven years that have described the characteristics of the adult learner (Kidd, 1959, 1973; Knowles, 1977; Darkenwald & Merriam, 1982; Meizrow, 1991) that I have recommend as readingsfor graduate and other educators of adults. Recently, Forrest & Peterson (2006) presented acase for the use of andragological practice in the instruction of graduate management education in the Academy of Management Learning & Education journal. This argument is rare in the field of management education, encouraging practitioners to rethink classroom methodologies and practices. Forrest & Peterson relied on the theory and research of Malcolm Knowles among others, and presented four concepts that underpin andragogy. I decided to use the Forrest & Peterson article as the basis to examine a course that Ihad recently developed to determine if the course were true to the andragological concepts. The course, Leadership and Ethics, was taught in Spring 2007, at The Citadel College of Graduate and Professional Studies, Charleston, South Carolina

Management education may have started a shift to a more learner-centered approach, but using “pedagogy” shows that the field’s mind-set still views students as dependent children rather than independent adults. . . In the current situation, the term pedagogy acts like a shackle holding management education to past notions of learning (Forrest & Peterson, 2006, p. 114).

Self directed learning is an adult concept of identity, and often one of an associated role in which knowledge acquisition is important for success at a task the adult has determined to be of some importance. For example success at parenting leads to the purchase of parenting books, on-line searches, attending community parenting classes, and so on. Contained within this behavior are the role of parent and the identity of a qualitative level of parenting. This role and identity did not solely occur from memorization of what a parent is and does, but from social observation resulting in tacit and procedural knowledge, reflection on how the role would be carried out after reflection on what is known, what is supposed, and what may be learned from the self-directed inquiries. The higher the level of personal agency, the more individualized the outcome.

In management education, Forrest & Peterson, 2006, point out that the adult student enters the classroom with a variety of adult roles; perhaps parent, employee, citizen, and volunteer. They do not leave these behind to become a student, instead by incorporating roles and responsibilities into their educational experiences the adult student directs their own experience. The andragological premise assumes that adult students are partners in the education process, not passive receptors. Within a classroom of self-directed learners there exists a potential for individual self-assessment, requiring trust and communications, and multiple opportunities for students to become facilitators of learning. The first concept to understand when teaching adults is that they possess at some level the capacity and will to be self-directed.

There is an old axiom “that you are what you where when” that fails to account for the experiences accumulated since the “when.” As the adult learners review knowledge and the tasks at hand, their experiences become a supplemental textbook, in which their involvement in the learning experience allows the instructor to breakout of the role as conveyer of knowledge and become a guide and mentor (Forrest & Peterson, 2006). Indeed, the self-directed process and the existing experiences of the learner are a dynamic organization that becomes important for maximizing the active participation of the body of learners in the class. Experiential techniques are useful in optimizing the partnership of self-direction and individual experience in a group setting, but do not stand alone; more on this later. Thus, the second concept of importance to the educator of adults is that experience exceeds that of the adolescent, in quantity and quality as discussed previously, and this makes for a powerful learning tool.

Earlier I wrote of the importance of roles to an adult embarking on a self-directed learning task. Many time roles have a large impact on the adult and learning outcomes. Knowles (1977) recognized that adults often have extrinsic motivations to embark on programs of study. A master’s degree may be a stepping stone for promotion, career advancement, or re-careering. Therefore, the adult student has expectations that courses of study will meet needs and fulfill obligations. They tend to be less interested in ideas that do not appear of relevance (Forrest & Peterson, 2006). This concept of readiness to learn is of interest to more than the admissions and marketing staff of the college; the concept has direct implication to the classroom. Contextualizing content, recognizing teachable moments, and incorporating student feedback during the semester are important techniques to maintain relevance. This third concept is verified in a familiar saying among adult educators, “Adults vote with their feet.” If a required course does not light the spark in the student’s readiness to learn, they will just do their personal minimum and check the block; if an elective it will attract the few students who need an elective. On the other hand, when readiness to learn is engaged, it can carry over across a program.

Finally, the fourth concept is orientation to learning. This concept is akin to the major field of study, and explains why a General Studies Master’s Degree would probably hold less interest to most participants. The adult student, as I have argued is for the most part, directed to the accomplishment of learning outcomes based on an achievement motive. For a topic to be of interest or desirable it should address a need. Granted there are adults who take degrees simply to learn, to collect multiple degrees, or to find their desired academic end state. However, public colleges do not exist to service these students. The adult students who attend most public colleges can be characterized by Knowles (1977) and (Forrest & Peterson, 2006). These students desire that the classroom experience prepare them to use the material they learn in the real world. They do not reject theoretical underpinnings and foundational concepts; they understand that real problems have no single answer. What they do not want is a school solution, but a method to solve problems in their world. Thus, memorization of names, dates, and concepts is often irrelevant. Instead they wonder how these knowledges apply to problem solving. This fourth concept is an orientation to the adult learner’s world; their needs perspectives, motivations, and how these match with the academic obligation of the college.

THE COURSE

This course was concurrently offered as BADM 650-84(Ethics and Leadership: Organizational Development) and as Psychology 555-82 (Topic in Industrial/Organizational Psychology) in Spring 2007. The syllabus stated that “This course will explore ethical leadership as a behavioral competence developed and supported by organizational structures designed to maximize performance. There are many organizations that routinely perform in an ethically competent manner. Often these companies are well led; usually these companies are well staffed and properly structured. This course is about the processes of developing ethical leaders in good companies and providing the foundations for ethical performance. However, the best of companies can be led to ruin by unethical practices and unethical leadership. So this course also is about recognizing ethical pitfalls and the proactive processes of good stewardship.”[2]

The course was developed by the author over the period July – December 2006 after a scan of the curriculum revealed that there was no combined graduate offering in leadership and ethics. The Citadel’s Mission emphasizes the education of principled leadership. The school of business has an obligation to contribute to the young adult MBA student’s formulation of professional ethics on a number of levels. On the cognitive-developmental level Parks (1993) argued that a well developed personal trustworthiness and accountability was alone insufficient to ensure corporate ethical management practice. She noted that young adults are developmentally capable of the critical thinking necessary to handle the complexities of managerial challenges but they are limited by their models of action. Therefore, as managers “[t]hey will not be prepared adequately to create a positive corporate culture within which other decision makers will function” (p. 27). The impetus to develop more sophisticated models for dealing with the realities of ethical dilemmas in the corporate world are contained in experience, unfortunately, however, as the old saying goes “we’re made stronger by what doesn’t kill us.” The intellectual challenge of the classroom is considerably safer than the courtroom. The capacity for the young adult to learn to think critically can be enhanced with proper ethical “contradictions” as Parks calls them or dialectical and paradoxical problems as the adult developmental literature suggests. Presenting the complexities of the real world in new terms that cause the learner to make new meanings builds new frames of reference that are models for future use.