Innovation in Brazilian Business Administration Programs: an Analysis of Alignment to 21st Century Skills

Abstract

In this paper we investigate whether there is an alignment between the competencies developed in the teaching and learning innovations of business schools in Brazil and the competences of the 21st century administrator required by employers and society. To this end, we initially studied the evolutionary trends of higher education and produced a list of the 11 competencies that are currently considered the most necessary for citizens and administrators. We then looked at the cases of the 23 winners of the 2018 ANGRAD Innovation Award, which document and detail initiatives considered the most innovative in Brazil in the field of business education. We assume that this set of cases largely represents the efforts of business schools to align themselves with the current social demands. Each case was evaluated individually and compared to the list of competences for extracting conditions (descriptor variables) and results (response variables). The configurations thus obtained were analyzed using the crisp set Quantitative Comparative Analysis technique in order to allow the proposition of generalizations. The results indicate that the innovative initiatives most aligned with 21st century competencies were implemented based on robust and coherent projects, using their own methodology and involving teachers and students. On the other hand, initiatives that were less in line with 21st century competences were characterized by not using practical or real cases. Finally, from the tabulation of the competencies developed in the initiatives, it was observed that most projects involved regional integration efforts; that there is a visible commitment to develop social relational skills; and, in the other extreme of the range, that no initiative involved the development of comfort in the face of technology use.