From Benevolent Dictator to Constitutional Monarch

SUMMARY Frustration with didactic methods in teaching American students about European-style “participation” led to the use of a semester-long simulation of a European works council in a graduate cross-cultural course. Students shaped in the American culture of person-centered, direct participation learned by living an institutionalized, representational participation system. A written class council charter contractually bound both instructor and students to power-sharing via redefined roles in the management of the class. Student testimony documents the effectiveness of this simulation in driving learning to previously unreached levels.