Escaping from the valley of death: Reconfiguring executive education through a differentiated curriculum

Much of the criticism levied against executive education has focussed on its lack of real-world relevance. Such is the bifurcation between executive education and professional practice that it has been described as a ‘valley of death’. Albeit dramatic in tone, this view of executive education points to the need for radical change in the way Business Schools conceive and deliver the curriculum. Hitherto, EE has been characterised by a pedagogy based on the functional delineation of learning to cohorts of students through standardised programmes. In recent times, Business Schools have adopted andragogical approaches as they look to empower students to exercise greater control over their learning- but is this sufficient? Heutagogy offers a view of learning that is centred on the self-determination of how individuals learn and that is embedded in authentic and life-long learning. This substantive review offers a view of future executive education through the theorisation of how a heutagogic approach may inform future curriculum developments.