The Pedagogy of Vulnerability and Marketing Education: Cultivating Self-expansion in a Time of Separation

Abstract

Applying the pedagogy of vulnerability and self-expansion theory, the exercise known as the Know Me Activity (KMA) enhances self-expansion by encouraging connections between students and the instructor. The pedagogy of vulnerability is premised on risking self-disclosure as an act of courage. Self-expansion theory is grounded in personal relationships whereby individuals are motivated for personal growth and identify with others to gain access to their resources. In the context of marketing education, self-expansion stems from enhancing student self-awareness for personal growth as well as perceived vulnerability and relatedness of the instructor to encourage access to expertise. The KMA was conducted at three universities and assessed to determine its usefulness as a self-expansion exercise. Survey results indicate that students found the activity contained self-expansion characteristics, and they recommend it for future use. The results of the pretest and posttest analyses also demonstrated an increase in student self-awareness, perceived instructor vulnerability, and perceived instructor relatedness. Self-expansion activities enhance relationships by design and participating in them can lead to increased student effort and persistence. Marketing educators can, therefore, have confidence in utilizing the KMA as a means for mitigating social isolation and encouraging perseverance.

What Motivates Marketing Educators to Attend In-Person and Virtual Academic Conferences in a Time of Pandemic Pedagogy?

“…When viewed through the lens of self-determination theory, this study demonstrated how relatedness and competence differed for marketing educators in their motivation to attend a particular academic conference virtually or in-person. Prior marketing education studies have considered student perceptions regarding instructor relatedness and competence (Jillapalli & Wilcox, 2010; Syrdal et al, 2021). This is the first study to consider these motivations for faculty professional development.…”

“…The motivation has to do with one's sense of internal control versus being controlled by external factors (Ryan et al, 2021). Thus, autonomy does not have application to all motivation situations as reflected in prior studies in higher education (Fedesco et al, 2019) and marketing education in particular (Jillapalli & Wilcox, 2010;Syrdal et al, 2021). Moreover, individuals are not restricted in their decisionmaking when it comes to academic conference attendance.…”

“…Self-determination theory has been used in prior marketing education studies regarding instructor relatedness (Syrdal et al, 2021) and instructor online competence (Kordrostami & Seitz, 2022). Self-determination theory asserts that human behavior is governed by psychological needs that manifest as motivation (Deci & Ryan, 1980).…”

Using cross-course peer grading with content expertise, anonymity, and perceived justice

“…Novice students were given a survey near the end of the semester. The three-item scale from Syrdal et al (2021) was utilized to capture perceived effectiveness of CCPG as a course component. A five-item scale adapted from Colquitt (2001) measured distributive justice.…”

“…I feel prepared to critique the work of colleagues in a professional setting. (Syrdal et al, 2021) Perceived effectiveness I recommend using peer grading in the course in the future.…”