Journal of Management Education Special Issue - Management Education in Africa
Call for Papers
We invite submissions that engage, explore, and problematize issues related to management education in Africa. We encourage submissions from scholars in all nations in Africa. We welcome a variety of manuscripts including: research articles reporting quantitative and/or qualitative empirical studies conducted in the African educational context; theoretical and conceptual articles that build new theories or critique existing ones about contemporary issues in African management education; essays including first-person narrative accounts about lived experiences of teaching and learning in Africa; and instructional innovations that describe and evaluate teaching and learning approaches that have proven to be effective in the context of African educational systems and business schools.
Guest Co-Editors:
Mira Slavova, University of Warwick, UK
Samuel Aryee, University of Surrey, UK
Jako Volschenk, Stellenbosch University, South Africa
April L. Wright, University of Warwick, UK
Sarel Gronum, University of Queensland, Australia
Sandra Pereira, University of Warwick, UK
We encourage submissions for this special issue on a variety of topics and themes relevant to management education in Africa, including the following:
Showcasing Pedagogies That Facilitate Learning in African Contexts
Submissions might share approaches and instructional innovations developed in the African context and which could be applied globally. Submissions could also adapt conventional Western pedagogies for the African context of large class sizes, resource scarcity, and inadequate technologies, for example, case teaching methods (Becheikh et al., 2022) and blended learning (Ngoasong, 2022). In pursuing creative dialog about pedagogies, submissions could consider:
- What can be done (classroom practices; activities; and instructor development) to enhance learning effectiveness?
- What educational assumptions or practices should be questioned or challenged?
- Why are educational delivery systems designed as they are in African contexts, and how might they be enriched?
Exploring Curriculum Puzzles in African Management Education
Business ethics (e.g., Damoah & Appiah, 2020; Mishra & Maiko, 2017), cross-cultural management (e.g., Baba, 2018; Blasco et al., 2022; Brunt, 2016), and decolonization (Girei, 2017) pose key puzzles for the curriculum of African business schools. SI submissions might consider:
- What role can management education play in good governance and ethical business practice in Africa, and where should ethics be positioned in the curriculum?
- Can learning about cross-cultural management help students and practitioners balance a global mindset with sensitivity to local African contexts?
- What strategies can be used to decolonize the business school curricula in Africa?
Navigating academic careers as an African management educator
Given the shortage of faculty staff in Africa with the skills and expertise to develop research-led curricula and teaching resources (Heshmati & Hartvigson, 2018; Honig & Hjortsø, 2018), submissions might reflect on the opportunities and challenges of navigating academic careers as an African management educator in Africa and the diaspora. For example,
- What strategies and practices at different levels (individual, groups, departments, schools, and the academy) can support the professional development of management educators?
Fostering Entrepreneurship Learning and Education in Africa
Entrepreneurship is a core teaching interest in African business schools (Honig & Hjortsø, 2018). Studies have examined approaches to entrepreneurship and small business education (e.g., Gerba, 2012; Glaub et al., 2014; König et al., 2022) and social entrepreneurship (Elmes et al., 2012; Heaton, 2008; Mirvis & Googins, 2018). SI submissions could address questions such as:
- What instructional approaches and models are most effective in developing entrepreneurial mindsets in students and practitioners in Africa?
- What role can partnerships between Africa-based educational providers and Western universities, NGOs, and corporations play in educating students, aspiring entrepreneurs, and small business owners in Africa about entrepreneurship and innovation?
- How can African business schools, universities, and faculty educate and mentor social entrepreneurs to contribute to human wellbeing in Africa?
These themes are examples of the types of questions, issues, and topics that contributions to the Special Issue might address, but authors should not feel constrained by them. Advancing management education in Africa will benefit from thoughtful contributions from many perspectives and from African voices in a variety of forms. Accordingly, we seek submissions across all of the Journal of Management Education’s regular features:
Research Articles...
qualitative and/or quantitative studies that directly affect teaching strategies and/or learning while emphasizing the pedagogical implications of these studies so that readers can apply the findings to their own teaching practice (Maximum 8,000 words not including references, figures, tables, or appendices).
Example of research article based on observations and interviews
Theoretical and Conceptual Articles...
explore contemporary issues in management education to build new theories or critique existing ones (Maximum 8,000 words not including references, figures, tables, or appendices).
Essays...
thoughtfully reflect on and discuss important teaching and learning issues in management education; may contain first-person narrative accounts presenting lessons learned from personally challenging experiences in teaching management or present well-developed arguments for revising what is taught in management education (Maximum 6,000 words not including references, figures, tables, or appendices).
Example of essay focused on identifying and solving a problem in management education
Rejoinders...
engage with controversial or provocative essays or articles by offering different perspectives on the theme or focus (Maximum 2,000 words not including references).
Instructional Innovations...
present cutting-edge, experientially-oriented teaching and learning approaches with sufficient detail and evidence of effectiveness for readers to implement the activities in their own environments (Maximum 6,000 words not including references, figures, tables, or appendices).
Instructional Change in Context...
describe, analyze, and evaluate teaching or curricular change initiatives within specific institutional or cultural contexts that provide inspiration to readers who may be in the same or a similar situation (Maximum 8,000 words not including references, figures, tables, or appendices).
Interviews...
feature engaging conversations with influential figures about issues relevant to management education. Articles must include a literature review as well as commentary and critique of the interview, including implications for educators. Interested authors must submit a short proposal (400 words) to the Special Issue Editors prior to submission (maximum 6,000 words not including references, figures, tables, or appendices).
Guidance on writing up articles as interviews
Alternative manuscript structures
If you have other manuscript structures in mind that may more authentically express and communicate African voices and lived experiences to JME readers, please consult the Special Issue Editors. Submissions should be original, not submitted to or published in any other outlets, and fit the length and other requirements specified on the journal website. Please follow all JME submission guidelines that are available online at: https://us.sagepub. com/enus/nam/journal/journal-management-educationsubmissionguidelines. Your manuscript may be submitted online via the Sage Track system at: https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/jome.
Prospective authors and potential reviewers are invited to contact any of the editors noted above about this special issue. The timeline for submissions, which includes an opportunity for African scholars to submit expressions of interest or an extended abstract (500–1,000 words) to receive editorial feedback before developing a full submission, is outlined below.
Timeline
By September 1, 2024: Expressions of interest in the form of a long abstract due. A developmental approach is offered. Please email a two-page abstract of your potential paper to any of the SI editors to receive developmental feedback, including on fit with the SI.
By January 15, 2025: Full submissions due. There is no requirement to have previously submitted an abstract. Submissions open 3 months before due date.
By February 1, 2025: Papers sent out for review. By June 1, 2025: Revised manuscripts are due.
By September 15, 2025: Some papers sent for editing; others are sent back to submitters for additional revisions.
By December 1, 2025: Final papers are due. Publication may occur in early 2026.
JME special issue paper development workshop
Wednesday 24 July 2024
14:00 - 16:00 (SA time)
13:00 - 15:00 (BST time)
Please complete the JME paper workshop submission form to express your interest in attending the workshop:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfJR6MOygjuWX9guJXJibtVHg-tZHxE-NTtMkVOvEwvIFpHww/viewform