Transforming Curriculum Praxis and Workplace Capabilities: changing the way the game is played

Project leader(s): Martin Reynolds Ray Ison

Theme: Other
Project faculties: STEM
Status: Archived
Date: May 2018 to April 2026

Transforming curriculum praxis and workplace capabilities (project code: 18E-MRRI-EI-01) builds on two initial eSTEeM projects (i) Enhancing Systems Thinking in Practice (STiP) in the Workplace (Reynolds et al., 2016; 13L-MR-EI-02); and (ii) Framing Professional Competencies for Systems Thinking in Practice (Reynolds et al., 2018; 17C-MR-EI-02 ).

This third project investigated how a postgraduate curriculum in Systems Thinking in Practice (STiP) at The Open University (OU) can shift from a competencies-based design toward a capabilities-informed praxis. The project (2018–2025) was led by Martin Reynolds and Ray Ison with team members Rupesh Shah and Helen Wilding and used participatory action research and systemic inquiry across three parallel workstreams:

WS-1: Institutional research into innovation and governance in HE curriculum design (interviews, document review, literature synthesis).
WS-2: Trailblazer activity and approvals for a Level 7 Systems Thinking Practitioner Apprenticeship (STPA) (employer workshops, Trailblazer group meetings, provider engagement).
WS-3: STiP 2020 curriculum refresh (module production, learning design, AL engagement, pilot presentations).

Key outcomes and impacts

National approval in 2020 by the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE/ Skills England) for the Level 7 (postgraduate) Systems Thinking Practitioner Apprenticeship (STPA) Standard — the first formal occupational recognition connected to a postgraduate STiP curriculum pioneered at OU since 2010. Over ten Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) set up Level 7 programmes for the STPA, with some also establishing corresponding postgraduate accredited qualifications (PG Diplomas and Masters) in systems thinking. Professional accreditation pathways developed in parallel by partner organisations – Systems and Complexity in Organisations (SCiO) and Systems Practice Assessments (SPA Ltd).
OU produced revised 30-credit STiP core modules TB871 (Making strategy with STiP) and TB872 (Managing change with STiP) with a 2020 launch, both demonstrating strong postgraduate registrations, improved retention, and high student satisfaction. Two 30-credit apprenticeship-specific modules were created TBXY873 (Co-designing interventions with STiP) and TBXY874 (Evidencing STiP). TBXY874 (portfolio/ePortfolio module) embodied the project’s theory of change for capability development.
Despite approval and early cohort launches (2023–24), STEM Faculty withdrew OU STPA provision in 2024 due to low registrations and institutional/ Faculty financial priorities – particularly in maintaining a conventional STEM identity. STiP mainstream provision faced similar withdrawal recommendations but was retained after review. The withdrawal curtailed planned post-launch evaluation for STPA.
WS-1 found more barriers (six) than enablers (three) in OU contexts for curriculum praxis; common enablers were staff motivation, permission/endorsement, and relationships; common barriers were over-standardisation, imposed change, administrative constraints, time pressures, lack of discursive space, and limited involvement of ALs.
WS-2 demonstrated a successful multi-stakeholder Trailblazer Group (TBG) learning system that navigated IfATE and external end-point assessment (EPA) complexities and engaged employers, alumni, and HEI advisors. It contributed significantly in producing a new Standard and recognition of a professional role of a systems thinking practitioner (STP), and multiple providers — but exposed tensions between employer-led KSB frameworks and capabilities-oriented pedagogy.
WS-3 produced an STiP curriculum (TB871/TB872) that better supports workplace experimentation and practitioner development, reinforced AL engagement in production, and supplied fresh pedagogic patterns. These include fostering safe-fail spaces for praxis, and bricolage as a methodological approach for both STiP students and curriculum practitioners; both fostering capability rather than fixed competence. At the time of publishing the final report, the workstream had failed to persuade the School and Faculty to adapt and adopt the two new STPA modules TBXY873 and TBXY874 for the mainstream STiP curriculum.

Recommendations (high level)

Protect and resource discursive, safe-fail spaces (time, tutor support, AL recognition) essential for capability development.
Integrate work-based portfolio practice (ePortfolio; practice tutor role) into mainstream PG pathways to extend capability benefits beyond apprenticeships.
Recalibrate governance and funding models to enable more agile, relational curriculum design, reducing over-standardisation and enabling cross-module/qualification budgeting.
Foster collaborative provider networks (shared assessment practices, provider communities) to resist purely competitive market pressures and sustain capability-rich pedagogy.