Towards an ethnography of the MBA classroom: a consideration of the role of interactive lecturing styles within the context of one MBA programme

The need for MBA programmes to prepare managers for international business requires an international, interactive learning environment. This article considers the role of interactive lecturing styles within the contest of the Edinburgh University MBA programme. A broad ethnographic perspective is adopted in order to provide 'thick' description of the learning context. Illustrations are taken from five different MBA classes of which three are core courses: Marketing, Economics and Statistics. The other two examples are from the second term options: Financial Institutions and Management of Technology. The examples show a variety of ways of including student oral participation within the lecture framework. Implications of this and future investigations of the MBA classroom for both EAP/ESP professionals and subject lecturers are considered. (C) 2000 The American University. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.