How to Reclaim Space? The Forgotten Dimension of RME

Space is vital for meaningful learning, yet today’s management education (HE) curricula are characterized by curricular congestion and rush. Students report frenetic learning experiences characterized by overwhelming amounts of content, surface learning, thoughtless sequencing, excessive multitasking and very little autonomy. So far, very little attention has been paid to this problem in responsible management education scholarship. So far, we know little about how to build productive learning spaces into curricula. Inspired by the Japanese concept of ma, meaning ‘inbetweenness’, ‘interval’, ‘negative’ or ‘empty space’ between temporal and spatial things or events, I propose that we rethink curricula as three-dimensional artefacts comprising structures, content and space. Together, these three dimensions produce aesthetic experiences in students that impact learning. The article outlines several strategies for reinstating space of different kinds in management curricula.