JOURNAL OF HIGHER EDUCATION THEORY AND PRACTICE

Engaging in Reflective Decision-Making: The Role of Skills in the Development

of the Information Systems Undergraduate Curriculum

Author(s): Jeffry S. Babb, Jr., Herbert E. Longenecker, Jr., Charles R. Woratschek, Amjad Abdullat

Citation: Jeffry S. Babb, Jr., Herbert E. Longenecker, Jr., Charles R. Woratschek, Amjad Abdullat, (2012) "Engaging in Reflective Decision-Making: The Role of Skills in the Development

of the Information Systems Undergraduate Curriculum," Journal of Higher Education Theory and Practice, Vol.12, Iss. 2, pp. 20 - 33

Article Type: Research paper

Publisher: North American Business Press

Abstract:

The Information Systems (IS) undergraduate curriculum has consistently valued the same core

Information Technology (IT) skills as those of the professional marketplace. The conundrum faced by

department chairs and curriculum committees is how to adjust to changes in the IT environment and

marketplace while fostering a core of basic IT skills. That core is the consistent tradition of IT skills for

the IS discipline. Argyris and Schön’s work on organizational learning is used as a philosophical and

theoretical lens through which the curriculum decision-making process can be better understood. Cycles

of skills and learning assessment, which utilize key constituents to provide feedback loops for error

detection and correction, both promote and restrain the tendency to react and over-react in curricular

decision-making. In light of this, the 2010 Association for Information Systems/Association for

Computing Machinery (AIS/ACM) model curriculum is compared to previous model curricula in order to

examine the degree to which the need for basic IT skills has actually changed. Future research directions

are discussed which will facilitate inquiry into which IT skills have consistently mattered in the

Information Systems discipline over the last 20 years. It is our position that a cycle of reflective learning

is needed to undertake appropriate error correction and detection in the process of curricular decisionmaking.