Teaching wicked problems in higher education: ways of thinking and practising

• Published in: Teaching in higher education Vol. 28; no. 7; pp. 1518 - 1533
• Main Authors: McCune, Velda, Tauritz, Rebekah, Boyd, Sharon, Cross, Andrew, Higgins, Peter, Scoles, Jenny
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Abingdon Routledge 03.10.2023; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: College Faculty; figured worlds; Foreign Countries; Global Approach; Higher education; Interviews; Learning; Pedagogy; Problems; Semi Structured Interviews; Teacher Attitudes; ways of thinking and practising; wicked problems; United Kingdom (Scotland)
• ISSN: 1356-2517; 1470-1294
• DOI: 10.1080/13562517.2021.1911986

This paper reports on teachers' perspectives on preparing students for working with 'wicked' problems (Rittel and Webber [1973]. 'Dilemmas in a General Theory of Planning.' Policy Sciences 4 (2): 155-169.). These problems are complex, lack clear boundaries, and attempts to solve them - generally by bringing together multiple stakeholders with contrasting viewpoints - have unforeseen consequences. Examples include many of the most significant current global challenges. We conducted semi-structured interviews with twenty teachers who focused on wicked problems, and a comparison group of 15 . We used the theoretical lenses 'ways of thinking and practising in the subject area' (Anderson and Hounsell [2007]. 'Knowledge Practices: 'Doing the Subject' in Undergraduate Courses.' The Curriculum Journal 18 (4): 463-478. ) and 'figured worlds' (Holland et al. [1998]. Identity and Agency in Cultural Worlds. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.) to frame our analysis. Our findings elaborate four key aspects of learning for wicked problems.