Tom 13 (2021): Zeszyt 2 (June 2021)

Objective: The authors of this chapter were inspired by the parallels they saw between education and management consultancy in terms of the behavioural change, and the methods used to achieve this. They seek to explore these parallels in particular the use of storytelling.

Methodology: The chapter first unpicks the notion of storytelling and goes on to examine the idea of behavioural change and the connection between the two. It goes deeper by rooting this in adult transformational learning. This is then linked to some real-life examples (recruitment and consultancy) of storytelling and adult learning.

Findings: The chapter considers some implications for the use of narrative for leaders moving forward into a post-pandemic world.

Value Added: Combining narrative with adult learning theory and comparing the world of business with education.

Recommendations: It is our hope that examination of this intersection will provide lessons relevant to both the education and business professions.

Objective: Post-communist countries, affected by decades of one of the most repressive political systems, are perceived as a particular area of gaps in social capital. These gaps influence the whole spectrum of behaviors of individuals, groups, and society. Countries that changed their political system start a journey of external (economic, social) and internal (personal, interpersonal, group) changes. The post-communist burden determines human behavior, so leaders and managers should pay attention to these consequences. The research deals with the differences in perception of creative identities (a creator, artist, manager, entrepreneur, and leader) by Polish society compared to other countries without communist history.

Methodology: Quantitative research (n = 160) in the form of a survey among people from Poland and other countries. Verification of hypotheses by chisquare test of independence used (SPSS, MS Excel). Next, a qualitative analysis of discrepancies was undertaken (NVivo).

Findings: There are no statistical differences in the perception of creative identities of a creator, artist, manager, entrepreneur, and leader between citizens of Poland and citizens of other countries. The additional qualitative analysis exposed that differences in perception of the creative identities between investigated societies might have necessary consequences while managing or leading groups (and organizations) dominated by creative individuals. These differences are shown in detail, and links between our research results and the literature are built.

Value Added: It looks like a post-communist burden in current Poland has a minimal impact on the perception of creative individuals. Thus, it can be said that communism disappears from the social capital during one generation (ca. 30 years).

Recommendations: Further research exploring the perception of creative identities by different analogical groups of compared societies would be valuable.

Objective: This contribution aims to introduce a conceptual framework on generational diversity of teachers in order to analyze and understand its influence on the processes and results of professional interaction in schools.

Methodology: In this conceptual piece, first, the relevance of generational diversity among teachers in their workplace is examined and justified, emphasizing the increasing aging of teaching staff. Next, generational diversity is explored by analyzing the concept of generation and the attributes used to distinguishing generations (particularly, age). Furthermore, evidence is considered regarding the impact on the construction of teacher relationships, paying particular attention to the context of collaborative relationships between teachers belonging to different generations and its effects on teacher learning and identity.

Findings: Conclusions are drawn as to the potentialities of intergenerational learning.

Value added: Despite representing a clear challenge for the educational organizations, generational diversity and intergenerational collaboration among teachers and school leaders have been scarcely studied so far.

Recommendations: Conclusions are drawn as to the potentialities of intergenerational learning and implications for professional induction and collegial professional development are presented as well.

Objective: This study systematically identifies the various pertinent cultural dimensions and the group processes involved in collaborative peer learning before empirically exploring their associations among a sample of university students.

Methodology: Twenty statements encompassing various cultural dimensions that could possibly influence students’ preferences towards collaborative peer learning practices were incorporated into a survey. The data were collected from 147 multicultural students studying applied sciences in Finland. Chi-squared test of independence was used to test the association between the cultural dimension scores for students and their stated preferences for collaborative learning practices.

Findings: A major finding of this study is that learners from diverse cultural backgrounds have differing modes of engaging in the eight separate collaborative learning processes. The findings clearly reveal that students from cultures that are hierarchical, collectivist, less bound by rules, and traditional are less likely to have any prior familiarity with peer-learning methods. It seems relatively clear that the power distance and collectivism dimensions have the greatest impact on shaping the preferences of students for collaborative peer-learning methods.

Value Added: Very few studies have looked at how the cultural backgrounds of students can influence their use of, and preferences towards, collaborative peerlearning methods. This study identifies key processes in collaborative learning practices, which are shaped by culture as communication, decision-making, leadership, evaluation, trust building, the expression of disagreement, scheduling, and persuasion within a peer group.

Recommendations: This study found that Hofstede’s framework might be too constraining when understanding how culture shapes a student’s preferences towards collaborative peer learning in the educational context. It would be even more fruitful to develop an altogether endogenous framework that is more suitable for exploring the influence of culture on learning and education. Such a model should identify the various dimensions of culture beyond those of national identity and consider how they jointly influence attitudes towards collaborative learning rather than considering them in isolation. This model should also take a more dynamic approach towards both culture and learning.

Objective: To investigate the impact of virtual learning experiences (VLEs) in school amongst disadvantaged 9 to 11-year-olds: specifically, do virtual experiences increase their knowledge, motivation and independence in learning about a topic, and does this increase their cultural capital.

Methodology: Participants explored virtual experiences on countries around the world, with the number of facts learnt before and after recorded. Questionnaires were also completed to record views of virtual experiences.

Findings: Findings suggest virtual experiences were successful in teaching participants new information, and increased their independence and motivation to engage with learning, and thus could be successful in increasing cultural capital. Significance difference testing revealed that disadvantaged pupils recorded fewer facts than non-disadvantaged pupils, and therefore virtual experiences were not sufficient to close this disadvantage gap.

Value Added: The value of virtual experiences being woven into curriculums is discussed as a platform for teaching cultural knowledge. Recommendations: Virtual learning experiences should be considered a core resource for teachers when planning and should be embedded into the curriculum to enhance learning experiences for disadvantaged pupils. Further research should continue to explore the use of VLEs in Primary schools, and the impact of VLEs on cultural capital.