Management Education in Canada: Historical Reflections offers a fresh and critical look at the evolution of management education in Canada. Nearly 25 years after the seminal work Capitalizing Knowledge by Barbara Austin, this edited collection revisits and expands upon the debates that shaped the field, while introducing new perspectives and overlooked histories.
Featuring ten scholarly essays from leading academics, this volume explores a range of critical and historiographic approaches to management education, highlighting the ways in which history is written, privileged, and, at times, neglected. Through a variety of themes, including the gendered experiences of female Ph.D. graduates, Africentric and Indigenous leadership approaches, and the role of globalization in shaping management curricula, the book prompts readers to reflect on the past, present, and future of management education in Canada. Chapters cover topics such as the influence of the Administrative Sciences Association of Canada, the underrepresentation of French- language business education, and the critical interrogation of management textbooks. Together, these chapters offer a rich and comprehensive analysis of the cultural, institutional, and intellectual forces shaping the discipline.
This volume will engage scholars, educators, and students in business schools, faculties of management, and those interested in the broader history of higher education, as well as anyone seeking to understand the historical development of management education in Canada. It is an essential contribution to the ongoing conversation about what management education has been and what it could become.
Table of Contents:
Acknowledgements; List of contributors; Introduction; 1. Textbooks as reflections of who we are!; 2. Making history: Identity work within a business school; 3. The Administrative Sciences Association of Canada and the development of management studies: 1979 to 2009; 4. French language as a missing context to the histories of ‘doing’ business education in Canada; 5. Globalization of management education: Business theory, competency model and the role of Canadian business schools; 6. Nikana’Lulkwik (Leadership); 7. The Ubunto mindset: Learning to manage and lead better together, the Africentric way; 8. Embracing “Sankfora” at Dalhousie University; 9. From past to present: Tracing the development of Canadian doctoral programs in business; 10. Gendered experiences: A dialogic co-creation with one of the first female PhD in Business graduates in Canada; Index.
About the Author :
Kristin S. Williams is the Director of the FC Manning School of Business and an Associate Professor in Management at Acadia University.
Albert J. Mills is Professor Emeritus of Management at Saint Mary’s University.
Heidi Weigand is Assistant Professor at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Review :
“This book is an essential contribution to the critical historiography of management education in Canada, offering a compelling analysis rooted in the Halifax School tradition. Inspired by the pioneering work of Albert Mills, it challenges dominant narratives, exposing the power dynamics that have shaped the field. Thought-provoking and meticulously researched, it is a must-read for scholars and educators seeking to rethink management history through a critical lens.” Roy Suddaby, University of Victoria, Canada
“Management Education in Canada provides a fascinating insight into the forging of a distinctive Canadian identity in an academic field dominated by the United States. At a time when threats to Canada’s identity loom large, this book, written from a diverse range of critical, historical perspectives, uncovers fresh understandings of the past to provide hope and direction for the future.” Todd Bridgman, Victoria University of Wellington Te Herenga Waka, New Zealand
“The essays in this book are not only excellent but also important. Focussing on key debates that shaped the field, they offer an original take on the past, present and possible future of management education in the Canadian context. If you want a serious, critical, and historically-informed analysis of the evolution of management education in Canada, then read this book.” John Hassard, University of Manchester, United Kingdom
“This is a timely volume contributing to our understanding of the development of management education in Canada. The essays in this collection are thoughtful, cutting-edge and should be of interest to educators, students, historians and administrators in the field of higher education in North America.” Pushkala Prasad, Skidmore College, United States
“This fascinating book demonstrates the importance of context in shaping management education. Each of the chapters generates important insights into the role of the past in engaging with the present and the future of management education in Canada. I commend it to management educators and researchers everywhere as a means of appreciating where canonical ideas about management education come from and how they can be transformed.” Emma Bell, Stockholm School of Economics, Sweden
“This book illustrates how Canadian management education has historically nurtured student critical reflexivity based on the research grounded in different philosophical perspectives. Student competence for critical reflexivity will be crucial for future student learning of deeper prompting that is indispensable for developing their hybrid intelligence. By focusing historically on critical reflexivity, Canadian management education and learning has intellectually advanced ahead of its time.” Milorad Novicevic, University of Mississippi, United States
“Scholars have long called for a deeper examination of the origins of modern business schools, particularly in response to challenges such as declining productivity and ethical lapses in the business world. Understanding how we arrived at this point—both in terms of the histories we have emphasized and those we have overlooked—is essential to this inquiry. Kristin S. Williams, Albert J. Mills, and Heidi Weigand have made a significant contribution to this effort by curating an outstanding collection of papers on business education in Canada. Their work not only addresses this critical need but also offers valuable insights that advance the conversation in meaningful ways.” Jeff Muldoon, Southeastern Louisiana University College of Business, United States
“What a fascinating and informative collection of essays, critically reflecting on the history of management education in Canada! Of high relevance to both Canadian and international readership, this book should be read by everyone interested in the evolution of and different perspectives on management education.” Martyna Śliwa, University of Bath, United Kingdom
