Populism and Higher Education Curriculum Development: Problem Based Learning as a Mitigating Response

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xxxvi

   PDF

2. Setting the Scene

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 1-1

      PDF

   2. Politics and Curriculum Content in a Global Perspective: Addressing the Populism Tsunami

      • John E. Reilly, Romeo V. Turcan

      Pages 3-40

3. Populism in Globalized World

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 41-41

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   2. Making Sense of Emerging Populist Agendas

      • Peter Scott

      Pages 43-69

   3. Challenges for the University: Recovering Authentic Liberal Culture During Ascendant and Populist Neoliberalism

      • Nikhilesh Dholakia, A. Fuat Fırat, Aras Ozgun, Deniz Atik

      Pages 71-95

   4. The Origins of the Current ‘Crisis’ Facing British Universities: Ideology or Incrementalism

      • John Baldock

      Pages 97-113

   5. The Paradox of Democracy

      • Samuel Rachlin

      Pages 115-145

   6. Modern Border Security

      • Rt Hon Bruce George, OBE

      Pages 147-158

4. Problem Based Learning as a Mitigating Response

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 159-159

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   2. Management, Philosophy and Consciousness in the Shaping of Problem-Based Learning

      • Michael Fast, Woodrow W. Clark II

      Pages 161-181

   3. Is University Management Part of the Problem or Part of the Solution for Problem-Based Learning Development and Critical Thinking?

      • Birgitte Gregersen

      Pages 183-203

   4. The Socially Engaged University: The Complexities of Business Relations Under the New Political Paradigm

      • Olav Jull Sørensen

      Pages 205-242

   5. Stakeholder Politics and PBL Curriculum: A Learner’s Perspective

      • Maria Kriegsbaum, Bernadett Deák

      Pages 243-264

   6. Internships: Meeting Stakeholder Demand for Vocational Curriculum? Benefits and Costs of PBL-Based Practice Learning

      • Jesper Lindgaard Christensen

      Pages 265-289

5. Problem-Based Learning Supporting Global Agendas

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 291-291

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   2. PBL: A Teaching and Learning Concept Is Facing Artificial Intelligence

      • Ralph Dreher, Gesine Haseloff

      Pages 293-311

   3. PBL and Social Inclusion

      • Sofia Daskou, Nikolaos Tzokas

      Pages 313-345

   4. Establishing a Link Between Meaning and Success Via PBL: Rethinking Entrepreneurship and Communication

      • Kim Malmbak Møller, Mads Lauridsen, Jeppe Spedtsberg

      Pages 347-367

   5. Storytelling Sustainability in Problem-Based Learning

      • Kenneth Mølbjerg Jørgensen, David M. Boje

      Pages 369-391

Against a background of increasing inequality and a rising tide of nationalism and populism, this book raises concerns that curriculum is being shaped by powerful non-academic, non-accountable forces and that populism – and its manifestations – represent a grave challenge to learning. It explores the extent to which curriculum and learning methods in higher education should respond to this challenge. Using problem based learning as a case study it draws on crossdisciplinary studies to examine how regional, national and organizational perspectives emphasize different aspects of PBL. It questions whether PBL provides an effective response to external influences and a ‘populist’ higher
education agenda. In conclusion the book poses an uncomfortable question whether graduates reflect the external forces shaping curriculum and hence may be as vulnerable to populist rhetoric as non-graduates precisely because the curriculum and learning methods do not engage with the challenges. This book will appeal to scholars of problem based learning, as well as populism and the
role of higher education in society.

• Populism
• Problem Based Learning
• PBL
• Higher Education
• Curriculum Development
• Curriculum Studies

"Writing in the midst of the Covid 19 pandemic, it is arresting to read a book that identifies the challenge of a totally different type of pandemic – Populism - and the threat which it poses to the academic world. This is a timely, thought provoking book precisely because it is searching for a type of academic vaccine to the undermining threats of populism, which will require wholehearted engagement to achieve."
—Professor Ilan Alon, Department of Management, University of Agder, Norway


"Turcan and Reilly have crystallised what people working in and around higher education have begun to feel. In the book, the seismic shifts affecting the top tiers of academe are laid bare and their consequences on the sector explored. The range of voices brought together in the volume lead to recommended priorities and possible pathways for those engaged in curriculum design, learning development, research, and research dissemination."
—Dr Simon Haslam, Visiting Fellow, Durham University Business School, UK

• Aalborg University Business School, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark

  Romeo V. Turcan

• Higher Education Consultant, University of Kent, Kent, UK

  John E. Reilly

Romeo V. Turcan is Professor of International Entrepreneurship and Organization Theory at the Aalborg University Business School in Denmark. Romeo’s research interests relate to creation and legitimation of new sectors and new organizations; high impact international entrepreneurship; and cross-disciplinary theory building.  


John E. Reilly is a higher education consultant with wide European and international experience. He has written on University Autonomy and Governance;  Quality Assurance; Education Policy on Entrepreneurship; Internationalisation; Erasmus and the Bologna Process; Credit Systems in Higher Education.

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