LECTORAAT CHANGE MANAGEMENT – De Haagse Hogeschool

As I reflect on the end of my master’s journey, I can happily share that I have graduated (whoopwhoop, master in the pocket). As part of my research, I’ve explored the conditions necessary for student participation in curriculum design as a method to develop change agent skills. I wanted to better understand a crucial aspect, which is the student’s perspective. The goal was to strengthen the student’s voice and contribute additional value to prior research efforts focused on the educators perspectives.

But why do we need change agents?

Organizations are facing challenges stemming from frequent technological advancements, globalization, political and economic instability, demographic shifts and ecological concerns (Kumar Chouhan, 2022). These challenges are leading businesses to shift their focus from maximizing profits to also improving the  lives  of  their  employees,  the  communities  in  which  they  operate,  and  the  environment (Palanivel, et al., 2024). Similarly, HR professionals are facing challenges related to ethical dilemmas, human rights and digital governance, consumer value in the digital economy and technology-driven changes (Rogiers, Meijerink, & Viaene, 2024).

According to Kumar Chouhan (2022), change management is one of the biggest issues in today’s world, as ‘being able to adapt to both internal and external changes is a prerequisite for any organization’s growth and survival’ (p. 2). To navigate these changes effectively, HR must take the lead in managing them. Brunetto & Beattie (2020) and Nutsubidze & Schmidt (2021) also argue that organizations are increasingly seeking HR professionals who can act as change agents. From personal experience and based on conversations with students and HR professionals, a mindset of adherence to a tradition – simply because “we’ve always done it like this” or “if it’s not broken, why fix it?” often hinders the adoption of the change agent role in order to tackle challenges within organizations.

Through extensive conversations with stakeholders and my own observations, it became evident that students within the Human Resource Management program at THUAS may benefit from further preparation to confidently step into the role of change agents upon graduation. This realization sparked a quest to explore ways for empowering students to enact meaningful change.

About my research

There are many ways in which students can be taught about their role as change agents. Consider methods such as lectures, homework assignments and internships. However, I was particularly interested in exploring whether change agent skills can be developed through student participation in curriculum design.

To uncover the essential conditions for stimulating student participation in curriculum design, three key factors emerged: (1) safe space, (2) reward (they are not doing it for free) and (3) expectation & aftercare (setting the expectations before a collaborative session and being kept up to date afterwards about the outcomes and next steps – or else they feel undervalued). For now let’s zoom in on the aspect of safe space.

Safe space

A safe space is vital for fostering student participation. Trust, engagement, and open dialogue emerged as fundamental elements in creating this environment. Trust, in particular, forms the foundation of students’ sense of safety, stemming from positive relationships with educators and peers. If they have a positive relationship (or good perception) with the lecturer, they are more likely to actively engage.

However, trust goes beyond relationships. Students also assess the ethical conduct of lecturers, drawing from personal experiences or those shared by peers. They need the assurance that their contributions will not be used against them academically, such as reflected in their grades.

But how?

As an educator, I was curious to understand how I can create a space where students feel safe enough to actively participate in curriculum design and have them develop crucial skills that they will need as professionals.

Based on my findings, I now know that students feel safe when educators:

• Provide positive feedback: Words of encouragement and affirmation serves to guide students towards academic excellence. Positive feedback can boost students’ confidence, fuel determination and establish trust between students and lecturers.
• Share practical examples: Students appreciate the incorporation of practical examples during discussions. These practical insights sparks curiosity within students to go beyond textbooks.
• Give individualized attention and support: Lecturers who demonstrated a willingness to understand student’s learning pace and offered personalized guidance were perceived trustworthy. This individualized approach fostered a sense of support and encouragement and a positive student-lecturer relationship.
• Investment in students growth: Lecturers who conveyed genuine interest in the academic and personal development of their students were highly regarded. Students valued educators who displayed a commitment to their success and demonstrated a desire to witness their growth and achievement.
• Have open and honest dialogues: An environment conducive to transparent and candid dialogue was instrumental in building trust. Students valued opportunities for open discussions and valued lecturers who facilitated such exchanges.

What not to do

I think it is equally important to understand what not to do as educators. According to the students that participated in my research these are the things educators often do that hinders the process of building trust which is crucial for students to feel safe:

• Discrepancy between feedback: Instances where verbal feedback provided by lecturers differed significantly from the written feedback received by students created confusion and weakens trust. Consistency and transparency in feedback were identified as essential for maintaining trust.
• Make students feel unwelcome due to cultural background: Instances where students felt unwelcome due to insensitive remarks or attitudes towards their cultural background were highlighted as detrimental to trust-building efforts. Such instances were perceived as disrespectful and damaging to the student-lecturer relationship.
• Gave unclear expectations which leads to self-doubt: Ambiguity regarding course expectations and assessment criteria contributed to students feelings of uncertainty and self-doubt. The lack of clarity regarding academic requirements hindered trust and confidence in the learning process.
• Overemphasis on negative feedback: Lecturers who predominantly focused on criticism and nitpicked students’ work without providing constructive feedback were perceived negatively. This approach undermined students’ confidence and deterred trust-building efforts.
• Differentiate behavior from ability: Lecturers who are unable to differentiate between students behavior and their academic capabilities were perceived negatively. As one student states “not because I am late to class means I am dumb” since this student believed to be perceived as lazy and not intelligent.

So…

As I reflect on my research journey, I do believe that student involvement in the curriculum design can serve as a method to develop change agent skills. By empowering students as change agents and fostering environments conducive to collaboration and innovation, we can support students on their journey to become professionals that will make a difference. However, the relationship between those involved in the design is essential for active participation.

and in case you want to know more about my findings or talk about the topic, reach out.

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Brunetto, Y., & Beattie, R. (2020). Changing role of HRM in the public sector. Pubic Management Review, 22(1), 1-5.   doi:https://doi.org/10.1080/14719037.2019.1645876

Kumar Chouhan, R. (2022). Growing issues and challenges of HRM in 21ST century. Indian Journal of Business Administration (IJBA), 15(2), 01-05.

Nutsubidze, N., & D.A., S. (2021). Rethinking the role of HRM during COVID-19 pandemic era: Case of Kuwait. Review of Socio-Economic   Perspectives, 1-12.

Palanivel, Rashi, Aggarwal, M., Kataria, K., Mishra, A., & Deshpande, A. (2024). The Role of HRM in Promoting Environmental Sustainability Within   Organisations. Journal of Informatics Education and Research, 4(1).

Rogiers, P., Meijerink, J., & Viaene, S. (2024). Research Handbook on Human Resource Management and Disruptive Technologies.