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The degree was developed according to Human Centred Learning Design. This places the experience of the learner at the centre of the development. The primary tool in this approach was to develop a set of personas to represent potential learners. These were first developed from a combination of a matrix of dimensions (knows what, knows how) and through informal conversations.
In addition to usual working groups and consultation with formal groups, we undertook a series of three surveys, focussed on the aspects of Human Centred Design. The first survey aimed to gauge interest in the degree and to begin to develop an understanding of both likely learners and their motivations.
316 people completed the first survey that focussed on motivations for studying a Bachelor of Leadership for Change. They were asked to describe their own role.
Participants described an amazing range of roles, which we have used to inform the development of the Graduate Profile. Participants described their role in many different ways including:
“change agent”; “social architect”; “ecological artist”; “Grower of capability in others”; “Innovative motivator”; “integration facilitator”; “Person who participates in the world for the improvement of social good”; “Someone who stimulates and facilitates change and development”; and, “A social entrepreneur focused on using technology to improve mental health”.
Participants widely ranged from those with traditional views of education to those with progressive views. This whole spectrum provided overwhelming support for the approach of the Bachelor of Leadership for Change but also raised some challenges and risks that we have addressed in the development.
Maximising these benefits and minimising the risks has guided the rest of the development.
Validating and understanding the motivations of the personas formed the bulk of the first survey. We developed a set of likely students in the degree who are represented as personas. We could then base the design of the degree around the experiences and expectations of these hypothetical learners - in effect, they act as “crash-test dummies”. The initial set of nine personas we identified from personal experience and by considering different dimensions, for instance, position at either end of a continuum of how much they know, in what area what they want to work, and of how much they knew what approach they want to follow (for example: entrepreneurial, local government, etc.).
In the first survey, all existing personas were recognised and recommended for study (average 81%, the lowest overall recommendation of 69% for Piri Purpose to the highest of 95% for Arini Advocate). Every participant that answered that section said that they would recommend the programme to at least one persona. The reasons why (or why not) participants would recommend the qualification to each of the personas, added to the list of advantages/risks that informed the development.
We asked participants “who we had missed” and then after much discussion, we added five more personas: Charlie Challenge, Rene Rebelle, Clara Coach, Ronnie Retiree, and Donnie Disconnected. We have also recognised the challenge of an "anti-pattern persona" - people who really wouldn't suit this qualification and will manage this through the recruitment and entry process.
A second survey focused on mapping the personas to graduate outcomes and the development of a graduate profile that provides a basis for flexibility and structure.
Participants were asked (n=86) to identify ideal first jobs, and “dream jobs” (as a proxy for the more complex career goal). They were also asked to describe “how could the Bachelor of Leadership for Change prepare them in ways that other degrees can't”? This, and the first jobs and dream jobs have informed the “persona journeys” where we have mapped the personas to a possible pathway through the degree. An outcome of the second survey was the identification of a further persona: Helen Hybrid.
Consultation participants were presented with elements of a draft Graduate Profile. This was developed from Scott’s Capability Framework, and the role descriptions described above, and by borrowing into a New Zealand context from the international benchmarks. The participants were asked to rank the importance of these elements and to describe what they would mean in practice. They were also asked what competencies and capabilities that we had missed. The findings from this informed the development of the Graduate Profile and learning outcomes.
After the questions concerning the Graduate Profile, the “first jobs” were presented back to participants (see “GPO importance”). They were asked whether the graduate profile aligns with the first job predictions. The response is overwhelmingly positive with all personas having more than 60% where the graduate profile aligned with the first job. Only a few Personas had a tail of more than 10% in the not well described categories, and these are mostly first jobs that are really summer jobs (busker, fruit picker, etc).
This question was critical in answering the first half of demonstrating a mapping of the graduate profile to actual jobs (recognising that the bigger goal is “jobs not yet created”, they still need a job in three years). The second half of this challenge, demonstrating a viable and risk-managed pathway through the qualification for each those "people".
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