Practising rather than preaching: an integrative approach to teaching total quality management

In Australian Higher Education there is much discussion about developing curriculum that will prepare a diverse student group for a changing world. Thus it is important to create a learning environment where generic skills essential for the workforce are developed along with specific technical knowledge. To this end a learning space was created where students were involved in a negotiated learning experience. This took the form of a student-run academic conference which was organised as part of a Quality Management subject within a Business degree. In this context the students were simultaneously dealing with quality management theory and putting it into practice. There were several interconnected themes which included generic skills, contextualised and interdisciplinary learning.