Can improvisation be paradoxical? Learner positionality and the improvised digital disruption

IF 2.8 3区管理学 Q2 MANAGEMENT

Management Learning Pub Date : 2023-10-03 DOI:10.1177/13505076231197908

Shehla R Arifeen, Farooq Mughal

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Abstract

Using the case of the COVID-19 lockdown as a disruptive event, this article aims to show the paradox of improvisation by investigating students’ experiences of transitioning from in-person to digital learning spaces across three select business schools in Pakistan. Using Foucault, we analyse the discursive strategies deployed by students as they oscillate between different subject positions under improvised digital conditions. Our analysis reveals contradictory views about the agency of the improvised subjects which is often considered as enterprising in the sense that individuals are willing agents of change. Findings suggest that improvisation can also be paradoxically experienced as it misaligns with predispositions of agents. We show this through the struggles of students in getting to grips with the digital move, giving rise to uncertainty. This study, therefore, makes three distinct, yet interrelated, contributions to the literature on management learning by identifying: the risks of taming embodied subjectivities, the changing positionality of learners and the paradox of improvisation. Our work has implications for understanding improvisation in business schools during disruptive events, as overlooking the predispositions of students can lead to an enterprising agency of a different kind (e.g. resistance) that forfeits the purpose of improvisation.

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即兴创作会自相矛盾吗?学习者定位和临时数字中断

本文以2019冠状病毒病疫情封锁为例，通过调查巴基斯坦三所精选商学院的学生从面对面学习空间过渡到数字学习空间的经历，旨在展示即兴创作的悖论。利用福柯，我们分析了学生在临时数字条件下在不同主体位置之间摇摆时所采用的话语策略。我们的分析揭示了关于即兴主体的代理的矛盾观点，这种代理通常被认为是进取的，因为个人是愿意改变的代理人。研究结果表明，即兴表演也可能是矛盾的体验，因为它与代理人的倾向不一致。我们通过学生在掌握数字移动过程中的挣扎来展示这一点，这带来了不确定性。因此，本研究通过识别:驯服具体化主体性的风险、学习者位置的变化和即兴的悖论，对管理学习的文献做出了三个不同但又相互关联的贡献。我们的工作对理解商学院在破坏性事件中的即兴发挥具有启示意义，因为忽视学生的倾向可能导致一种不同类型的进取机构(例如抵抗)，从而丧失即兴发挥的目的。

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来源期刊

Management Learning MANAGEMENT-

CiteScore

6.10

自引率

29.20%

发文量

期刊介绍： The nature of management learning - the nature of individual and organizational learning, and the relationships between them; "learning" organizations; learning from the past and for the future; the changing nature of management, of organizations, and of learning The process of learning - learning methods and techniques; processes of thinking; experience and learning; perception and reasoning; agendas of management learning Learning and outcomes - the nature of managerial knowledge, thinking, learning and action; ethics values and skills; expertise; competence; personal and organizational change