The same but different: HRD master’s programmes in the United States

Abstract

In this study, we examined the curricular and institutional characteristics of HRD master's programmes in the United States. Our sample included 108 programmes in 100 institutions that were self-identified as HRD programmes. Among our findings: (1) fewer programmes were located in schools of education (44%) and more were located in schools of business (28%) than indicated by previous research; (2) there was greater homogeneity in curriculum among programmes in the same institutional locations (e.g. schools of education or schools of business) and greater variation among programmes in different institutional locations; (3) the curriculum of programmes located in schools of education tended to focus on traditional educational topics such as adult learning and instructional design, while the curriculum of programmes located in school of business tended to focus on management topics such as organization development, staffing and employment law. Our findings suggest that the nature of HRD as an academic subject varies with institutional location, as do the skill sets of students who graduate from HRD programmes. Future research should take these differences into account.

Teaching and learning social justice in human resource development graduate programs: Preparation for research and practice

“…However, some in the CRT community have argued for the use of survey, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches to constructing counterstories (DeCuir‐Gunby & Walker‐DeVose, ). We used qualitative surveys in our study to allow for the emergence of stories that countered the dominant narrative of blindness toward racism and other forms of social injustice in recent curricular research in HRD (Lim & Rager, ; Lim, Song, Choi, & Kim, ; Zachmeier, Cho, & Kim, ). Simultaneously, we hoped to learn more about the teaching and learning of critical theories used to confront injustice.…”

“…Despite calls for research into how critical and social justice themes are taught in Human Resource Development (HRD) programs (Byrd, ), the current literature tells us little about how future scholars and practitioners are being prepared to face workplace injustice. Despite the fact that over 17 percent of Academy of Human Resource Development (AHRD) members are affiliated with the Critical HRD (CHRD) and Social Justice Perspectives Special Interest Group, recent curricular research examining published curriculum lists and course descriptions have reported no evidence of critical or social justice approaches to HRD being taught (Lim & Rager, ; Lim, Song, Choi, & Kim, ; Zachmeier, Cho, & Kim, ). Given the need for HRD to address social injustice (Byrd, ) and the negative data regarding social justice curricular content found in earlier studies, the HRD community must assess the degree to which we are preparing students to work for justice within their specific HRD contexts.…”

“…Recent research comparing content taught in HRD programs has failed to detect how or if CHRD and Social Justice HRD (SJHRD) are taught because the studies have depended on analysis of published curricula lists and course descriptions (Zachmeier et al, ) or on survey instruments based on published curricula (Lim & Rager, ; Lim et al, ). Researchers noted finding no evidence for the presence of critical theory in course titles or descriptions and were thus limited in claims they could make about the teaching of CHRD.…”

How Does Accreditation Fit Into the Picture?

“…More than business or accounting, HRD-like evaluation-is a field of study and practice, and is a discipline still defining itself (Stewart & Sambrook, 2012;Worthen, 1999;Zachmeier, Cho, & Kim, 2014). Pedagogical diversity in HRD in the United States echoes evaluation.…”

“…And although a growing number of business education programs are becoming accredited due to international competition, many are still not (Trapnell & Williams, ). A 2003 attempt to establish an accreditation system for HRD in the United States “died on the vine,” with its defunct Internet site (http://www.hrdaa.org) last updated in 2007 (Zachmeier, Cho, & Kim, , p. 14).…”