ABSTRACT VIEW
NURTURING CRITICAL DIALOGUE IN UNDERGRADUATE TEAMS TO DEVELOP CRITICALITY IN ADDRESSING WICKED PROBLEMS WITH COACHING
G. Kostoulias
Deree-The American College of Greece (GREECE)
Despite the urgent need to teach, support and research the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGS) in business education, only 3.83% of universities worldwide have committed to integrating the Principles of Responsible Management Education (PRME) into their curriculum by 2024. This statistic highlights the limited progress in aligning business education with the 17 SDGS. Whether through Critical Management Education (CME) or PRME, it is evident that 17 years after the global economic recession of 2008, more wicked problems have emerged and/or worsened. It seems that we are far from preparing our graduates to position themselves ethically to address these crises with the requisite criticality and tenacity. In the midst of such challenges, critical coaching is proving to be a valuable pedagogical tool for working in teams of students. Coaching student teams to create a safe (courageous) space for fostering critical dialog can empower young people to tackle issues at the local, national or international level. A recent doctoral study suggests and supports this approach using critical pragmatism, action research, and team coaching to foster higher order thinking skills in student teams. Through critical dialog, students can better manage crises and develop the skills necessary to tackle complex problems.

Keywords: Critical dialogue, Business Education, Coaching, Undergraduate teams.