Background

This article represents the outcomes of a study that considers the detail and nature of the first year business curriculum. The term curriculum represents a contentious issue both in terms of definition and delineation (Schubert, 1986, p. 26). Four distinct categories in which the curriculum is conceptualised were informed by Fraser and Bosanquet (2006) in considering: the structure and content of a module; the structure and content of a programme of study; the students ’ experience of learning; and the dynamic and interactive process of teaching and learning. The existing marketing and business delivery model conformed to the “educational atomism ” of the Barr and Tagg’s Instructional Paradigm (1995): Interacting with students only in discrete, isolated environments... the sum of the student’s experience is a series of discrete, largely unrelated, three credit classes. (p. 19) The study was informed by student feedback and staff responses to a changing employment and skills landscape. Also, and most importantly, as a result of an objective to develop an effective, relevant and challenging curriculum enriched by a set of skills, knowledge and competencies thereby equipping students to progress more readily to the higher levels of their programmes and ultimately into their vocational area. The prevailing business and marketing curricula at the University, as in many other higher education institutions (HEIs), had developed over time as a technocratic rationality which informed teaching and learning practices. Conceptions of teaching and learning in HE inform a debate that encompasses studies ranging from views embracing aspects of complex learning (Trigwell & Prosser, 1996) to an equally rich picture centred around the relative understanding of lecturers and students with respect to any difficulties caused through a mismatch of conceptions (Chalmers & Fuller, 1996). We launched an exploration into the level one students ’ experience which resulted in the formation of a conceptual aim to create a bridge between teacher-centred delivery and the student-centred formative processes of learning and development. As a result an innovative approach was formulated to design an