MYSTERY SHOPPERS RECOGNISING KNOWLEDGE SHARING BARRIERS IN HIGHER EDUCATION

This study focuses on the knowledge sharing barriers in the space between learning and teaching in higher education as reported by mystery shoppers. There is surprisingly little context-specific research on learning and teaching in a knowledge intensive community like a university from the perspective of knowledge management (KM). Discussing learning and teaching within KM is based on considering students controversially as customers or stakeholders. Thus including them more meaningfully in assessing and developing teaching practices, or knowledge flow, seems justified. The specific aim of this paper is to first recognise possible knowledge sharing barriers and then categorize such barriers emerging from the material into three larger domains, namely, individual barriers, technological barriers and organisational barriers.
There were 45 students from all faculties participating in a mystery shopper project in a Finnish university of technology. They observed their learning experience for six weeks in order to supplement data from other sources, to add a student voice on the process of developing learning and teaching in higher education.
The research approach represents qualitative content analysis in which knowledge-sharing barriers were recognised from the qualitative mystery shopper data. The results identify teaching practises that contribute to creating knowledge sharing barriers. More detailed and almost real-time contextual activity sampling is suggested as a method for further study and also an avenue for instant feedback for teaching staff. The results will provide data on current knowledge practices and learning processes in a technical university in Finland.