Abstract:

The research analyzes the use of theater as a tool in the teaching of management in higher education. Through the content analysis of recent empirical studies published in scientific journals, the advantages and disadvantages of the use of this methodology in students with different personal and social characteristics are presented.

The theory of experiential learning is based on the importance of the role played by personal experience and observations, lived through in the first person in the learning process. These observations are integrated by the individual into a theory, forming abstract concepts and allowing their generalization after checking the implications of the concepts in new situations. In turn, these implications or hypotheses serve as a basis for generating new experiences. However, the existence of multiple techniques makes it necessary to investigate the techniques developed and adapt the experiential techniques to the expected results in business education.

The research methodology used is based on the review of the main recent empirical works that use the theatre as a tool in the teaching of management. Focused on experiences carried out in business schools of higher education, the studies analyzed have an international scope. Through its study, the robustness of the pedagogical technique in regions with disparate social characteristics is also analyzed.

The results show that education through artistic techniques makes it possible to generate a favorable ecosystem that reproduces the growing complexity of the economic world. Managers face daily challenges that make training with a practical basis recommended. Consequently, theatre-based education promotes the transfer of personal skills, knowledge, and strategic capacity.

Finally, the results show the increased need for teaching staff trained in these techniques as the current lack is a possible barrier to the implementation of experiential education. Experiential education involves the design of activities adjusted to educational needs of students. Depending on the objective of the course, the recreations must be designed to place emphasis on the desired characteristics that are to be enhanced (leadership, awareness, reflection, empathy, equality, etc.). Likewise, the professional and personal characteristics of the students (experience, age, etc.) allows the experiential education to be adapted in a way that makes them feel integrated. As a result, the personalization of the experiential learning allows students to be motivated and the positive effect of the training to be strengthened.

Keywords:

Teaching methods, theater, management teaching, higher education.