Community-engaged learning : enhancing marketing education through experiential approaches with real clients

Abstract

This chapter explores how community-engaged learning can be integrated into marketing education to bridge the skills gap between academic institutions and industry expectations for the 21st-century workforce. This is achieved by establishing a link between experiential learning and reflective elements that can facilitate learning. An overview of the "Mystery Client" project is presented to illustrate this approach, detailing the project's rationale, procedures, and practical execution. This project aims to encourage student learning and enhance engagement. Substantial effort is dedicated to the practical aspect of the project. The final section will discuss insights into how the reflective learning model by Gibbs (1988) was applied by both students and tutors to evaluate the effectiveness of the project and its implications.