harvard executive education review

• Browse All Articles
• Newsletter Sign-Up

ExecutiveEducation →

No results found in working knowledge.

• Were any results found in one of the other content buckets on the left?
• Try removing some search filters.
• Use different search filters.

What We Do On-Campus Learning

Executive education programs offer life-changing, on-campus learning experiences

For senior leaders, there is often no substitute for face-to-face learning. To enrich the impact of the learning experience for your senior leadership, our executive education programs can incorporate powerful living-learning experiences on the Harvard Business School (HBS) campus as part of an integrated enterprise learning solution tailored to your needs.

An immersive experience

On-campus senior leaders are fully immersed in a holistic experience that is uniquely enriching. In addition to expanding their knowledge and expertise, executives examine where they’ve been—and where they want to take their careers and their organizations. Many of our alumni and participants have called this a life-changing experience.

Engaging interactions

Participants interact closely with HBS faculty and a peer group representing diverse organizations, industries, and cultures. Executive education programs are taught by full-time HBS faculty, drawing on research and real-world experience to disrupt traditional thinking and spark innovative ideas. Lectures, business simulations, and small-group discussions foster collaboration with peers.

Rich campus life

Learning extends beyond the classroom. Harvard Business School executive education programs include “living groups” carefully designed to encourage leadership development through case study discussions, small-group projects, lively lunchtime discussions at the Chao Center, and evening excursions to Harvard Square. Participants make new connections and form lasting relationships that continue long after the experience ends.

Tap into the HBS alumni base

HBS offers several executive education programs that offer alumni status where graduates become members of the exclusive HBS alumni network: more than 78,000 alumni representing global leadership in more than 160 countries. Connect with peers through HBS social media channels and newsletters, and the Harvard Business Review .

“This program is unique, not only because it brought together a diverse group of investment management leaders, but also because of the diversity of topics covered. It was a tremendous experience.”

Let’s meet your leadership challenges, together

Want to write your own success story? Let’s co-create a leadership development solution that meets your challenges and delivers real impact for your organization’s performance.

Benefit from world-class thought leadership and expertise

Support your strategy with solutions tailored to your learners’ needs

Develop a culture of continuous learning with on-demand solutions

Let’s talk

Change isn’t easy, but we can help. Together we’ll create informed and inspired leaders ready to shape the future of your business.

© 2024 Harvard Business School Publishing. All rights reserved. Harvard Business Publishing is an affiliate of Harvard Business School.

• Privacy Policy
• Copyright Information
• Terms of Use
• About Harvard Business Publishing
• Higher Education
• Harvard Business Review
• Harvard Business School

We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies and revised Privacy Policy .

Cookie and Privacy Settings

We may request cookies to be set on your device. We use cookies to let us know when you visit our websites, how you interact with us, to enrich your user experience, and to customize your relationship with our website.

Click on the different category headings to find out more. You can also change some of your preferences. Note that blocking some types of cookies may impact your experience on our websites and the services we are able to offer.

These cookies are strictly necessary to provide you with services available through our website and to use some of its features.

Because these cookies are strictly necessary to deliver the website, refusing them will have impact how our site functions. You always can block or delete cookies by changing your browser settings and force blocking all cookies on this website. But this will always prompt you to accept/refuse cookies when revisiting our site.

We fully respect if you want to refuse cookies but to avoid asking you again and again kindly allow us to store a cookie for that. You are free to opt out any time or opt in for other cookies to get a better experience. If you refuse cookies we will remove all set cookies in our domain.

We provide you with a list of stored cookies on your computer in our domain so you can check what we stored. Due to security reasons we are not able to show or modify cookies from other domains. You can check these in your browser security settings.

We also use different external services like Google Webfonts, Google Maps, and external Video providers. Since these providers may collect personal data like your IP address we allow you to block them here. Please be aware that this might heavily reduce the functionality and appearance of our site. Changes will take effect once you reload the page.

Google Webfont Settings:

Google Map Settings:

Google reCaptcha Settings:

Vimeo and Youtube video embeds:

You can read about our cookies and privacy settings in detail on our Privacy Policy Page.

Yes, Exec Ed Programs Can Deliver Value Online

Explore more.

• Classroom Management
• Course Design
• Digital Learning
• Perspectives

B efore COVID-19 hit, many senior leaders found university-based executive education (exec ed) appealing for three key reasons:

1. Its intensive academic material, enhanced through case discussions, coaching, role plays, and other engaging pedagogical methods

2. A social schedule optimized to complement learning, deepen reflection, and encourage relationship-building with fellow participants

3. Enticing locations away from their place of work that enabled maximum immersion in the executive learning experience

The pandemic-era move to fully online education represents a sharp break from these expectations and has prompted significant uncertainty for exec ed faculty and participants alike. The challenge, then, is to instill in executives the confidence that virtual learning will continue to offer the proven deliverables they have come to value over the years.

Through my experience teaching exec ed—both prior to and during this pandemic—at Harvard’s Professional Development programs as well as the Kennedy School and Graduate School of Education, and abroad at Sciences Po, Kedge Business School, and Vienna Executive Academy, I’ve found that the high expectations for executive learning can translate to the digital world. Here, I discuss some concrete tools—from managing the teaching team to curating the space for class discussions—that can enable instructors and faculty chairs to deepen their thinking about executive pedagogy in this new environment.

The Online Disruption for Executive Learners

Many executive participants have not been in a classroom of any kind for years, meaning they face a significant adjustment when signing up for executive education programs; such was the case even before the pandemic. Now, online learning platforms such as Zoom add additional layers of instructional novelty while reshaping the engagement methods that executives have found impactful in on-site offerings.

For example, virtual learning significantly curtails executive participants’ ability to network with their fellow attendees and faculty members, which has traditionally been one of the principal factors driving attendance of executive programs. Opportunities for meaningful impromptu “pull asides” are sharply constrained in the virtual environment. Likewise, gone are the festive receptions and intimate dinners at which participants built enduring connections with each other.

What’s more, participants—at least for now—can no longer travel to an engaging academic setting; instead, they join exec ed programs from their homes or offices. Even for on-site programs, senior leaders find it challenging to leave their work at the door and be fully present for the learning and thinking experience. This temporary psychological transition from the professional to the academic world—the gap that executive learning traditionally aims to bridge—is equally important but considerably more challenging in an online environment, requiring a different type of social and academic engagement by the faculty.

Unlike MBA students, who spend 12-14 weeks (two to three hours per week) immersing themselves in studying the subject matter, most executives commit to learning for short, intensive periods of time—often from one day to two weeks (six to eight hours per day). The brief duration—and the significant financial and professional opportunity costs that executives incur when deciding to participate—has always placed a high premium on making every hour as substantively impactful and engaging as possible. In the virtual learning environment, this becomes even more critical.

A Framework for Exec Ed Success

In what follows, I discuss several ways executive instructors can make every online minute count. This requires time investment before, during, and after the program.

MELDING OF MENTAL MODELS

While it is usually difficult to keep students’ attention and achieve material comprehension and absorption during six- to eight-hour days, this challenge is particularly pronounced with executive attendees, who have a fundamentally different approach to learning. The majority of university-based executive education faculty come from what, for the sake of simplicity, can be called the world of thought , while executive participants arrive from the world of action . Indeed, the promise by some executive programs to provide “up-to-the-minute management knowledge” reflects the fact that executives seek applied and usable insights from exec ed. In evaluations, executives often express impatience with the academic concepts, theories, and learning models that university-based faculty offer.

This tension between the tacit mental approaches of faculty and participants is at the core of the executive education pedagogy—and it becomes a particular challenge during virtual learning as “ Zoom fatigue ” necessitates making each class portion shorter and more engaging.

Before the Session

There are three things an instructor must do before the session begins:

1. Get to know the extended program team. For an instructor, the team potentially includes the information technology and audio-visual experts, the administrative staff who distribute the materials and communicate with the participants, and, finally and crucially, the core teaching team, such as teaching assistants (TAs) and guest lecturers.

Because having a teaching assistant or a scribe (someone to take notes on the discussions) is extremely valuable, I want to offer some suggestions for thoughtful onboarding of such staff, should your situation afford you the opportunity to have them. Instructors should spend significant time before the session outlining the intellectual and pedagogical expectations for the instructor-TA relationship. TA candidates who can serve in the position for several iterations of the program should be strongly preferred to “one-offs,” as repeat TAs gradually absorb the instructor’s approach to executive teaching. In addition to the multitude of critical micro-tasks that the TA will perform during the program, an important one is that of a post-session pedagogical commentator. TAs can offer valuable feedback on what worked and what didn’t. For that to happen, the instructor must—early on—manage the power dynamics in this relationship.

Put bluntly, the TA depends on you for employment, and naturally can be expected to be reticent in offering frank assessments of your teaching. Thus, it is imperative that the expectation for such candor be an explicit part of your onboarding conversation. Indeed, the instructor should ask that the TA keep two categories of written comments throughout the program: the immediate (class needs, unanswered questions, etc.) and the long-term (how to improve the teaching experience for the next iteration of the session or program). This expectation also makes the TA a true pedagogical partner, enabling their professional growth.

2. Get to know the technology. Setting up and learning about the technology requires multiple hours, including training for TAs who serve as copilots. During programs spanning multiple days, daily technology check-ins should become a norm to road-test the online platform features. Such consistent time investment by the faculty ensures that participants get the smoothest possible front-end experience.

This includes technology that runs smoothly from the first moment the participants enter the virtual waiting room—sound that’s been tested, slides that advance without a hitch, secondary computers that have been installed and ready to project the slides, guest speakers who know when they log on and how their topic fits into the structure of the program, and TAs who effortlessly facilitate the experience, working under the guidance of the instructor. The moment the participants enter the virtual classroom, the faculty’s preparation stops and the executive engagement begins.

3. Get to know the participants. You don’t have to teach a custom executive program to make the participants feel that the experience has been customized for them. An easy way to do this is to ask participants to fill out a pre-program survey.

For example, when preparing to teach negotiation classes, I ask several questions to gauge the range of the participants’ experiences:

What kinds of previous negotiation experiences have you had?

Do you usually negotiate on your own or as part of a team?

What kinds of challenges have you faced during negotiations?

How does negotiation training factor into your broader career trajectory and your role at your organization?

By investing time to collect and analyze this information, you signal early on that your focus is on meeting the executives’ learning goals and not simply on delivering the substantive items on your teaching agenda . We’re in the business of executive learning, not executive teaching.

“You don’t have to teach a custom executive program to make the participants feel that the experience has been customized for them.” Eugene B. Kogan

During the Session

Once the session begins, there are many ways to ensure it is deeply engaging. I’ll highlight three here:

1. Customize the learning through introductions. Carefully curated introductions can be essential building blocks of engagement in the virtual environment. Taking careful notes—or asking your TA to do so—during introductions is worthwhile for several reasons. First, this purposeful collection of information demonstrates to the participants your intent to customize the learning; just as with the pre-class survey, you’re signaling a continuing focus on making the learning as targeted as possible to their practical needs.

Second, introductions help you track the areas in which participants’ substantive contributions can be elicited later on. For example, when using the cold calling technique , consider softening the jarring surprise by saying something like, “Janet, in your introduction this morning, you shared your experience managing multicultural teams. I wonder if you can share insights from that.” This quick hypothetical highlights another value of curated introductions: managing the mosaic of experiences in the classroom, enabling executives to learn most from one another. For example, if Janet manages multicultural teams and Mohammed heads diversity efforts at his firm, then putting them together in a breakout room can make sense. Later on, knowing that Mike indicated in the pre-class survey that he sought to improve his ability to manage across cultures, pairing him with Janet can be productive as well.

Third, participants’ introductions clarify their expectations for the instructor and the program. It also gives the faculty an early opportunity to either manage these expectations or make a mental note to cover the additional subjects of interest.

2. Create practical assignments. Initial class participation in a virtual setting can be slow as participants see each other for the first time without the social lubrication of networking during meals and coffee breaks. Breakout groups —which have become popular with online instructors—will generate more discussion and are likely to be most effective when participants have an assignment to complete (for example, a PowerPoint slide to create in preparation for a presentation to the whole cohort). However, remember that executives are looking for tools that are research-based and practical. They are less likely to be eager for an academic exercise that is just that—an activity that has no enduring relevance for their world. Consider designing assignments that can also serve as practical takeaways: for example, a preparation table that participants can use in the future. A strengths-weaknesses-opportunities-threats (SWOT) analysis template is one such example.

Just as in a regular classroom, continual engagement is key during these breakout sessions. Faculty can do well to be roving coaches—going from one breakout room to another—listening, prodding, and answering questions. Instructors may also consider offering opportunities for one-on-one consultations in a separate breakout room.

EXAMPLES OF TAKEAWAY SLIDES

In my Using Power Effectively class within Harvard Division of Continuing Education’s Professional Development programs, I begin each program section with a summary of theoretical insights from the academic literature. Executives usually appreciate such a focused distillation of relevant scholarship.

Source: Kogan, Eugene, “Using Power Effectively.” Lecture, Harvard Extension School, accessed December 9, 2020.

I then offer practical tips—actionable items derived from the academic literature.

The theoretical insights offer depth to those who want to go further (by taking on additional reading, for example). The action items are for those who need to apply the learning in the short term.

3. Curate the conversation space. As I noted earlier, networking opportunities are significantly curtailed in a virtual setting. During on-site programs, it may be tempting for faculty to come in right at the beginning of the session and exit right after it, leaving participants to network with one another in an unstructured atmosphere. While instructors can—and should—use initial introduction rounds to allow participants to meet one another, there are other ways throughout the session to create space for informal conversation.

The chat feature, for instance, is a place where participants exchange private and class-wide messages. Reading out the key messages from the chat at regular intervals—or inviting the TA to do this—enables participants to feel that their contributions have been formally acknowledged. Likewise, staying for 15-30 minutes after the session can also be a valuable tool to offer participants the expectation that a dedicated space exists for informal, face-to-face interaction. In short, in the virtual learning environment, the impromptu networking space cannot be taken for granted—it must be created and maintained by the faculty.

After the Session

An instructor has two major tasks after a session is complete. The first is to encourage participants to step back and reflect on their learning. Especially when teaching multi-day programs, I ask participants to offer anonymous responses to two questions at the end of each day:

1. What is the one thing we discussed in class today that you will remember?

2. What is the one question that you still have after today’s discussion that you would like us to cover tomorrow or before the program concludes?

I find that anonymity is helpful in opening the space for candid acknowledgment of items not yet understood. Addressing these questions at the beginning of the next session provides the connecting tissue to the entire program and ensures that executives leave with the tools that they sought.

After asking participants to assess their learning for the day, the instructor’s second task is to follow suit. While you teach, your TA has the privileged position of observing the entire process. They may notice things that you—while in the teaching arena—have not. It is worth the time after each session to debrief with your teaching team. Subsequently creating a teaching guide—including points large and small—is also a valuable practice, especially if you expect to hire other TAs in the future. Either way, it will help you make your teaching more reflective.

From Crisis, the Opportunity to Reimagine Executive Education

Virtual learning has upended the way executives learn and faculty teach. But it does not have to undermine the fundamental value proposition of exec ed. On the contrary, there is an opportunity here to embrace the disruption and reimagine the possibilities that exec ed offers leaders.

For example, virtual education increases access to guest speakers from all over the world who would not normally travel to deliver an hour-long guest lecture. Likewise, the speed and efficiency with which a class can be divided into breakout rooms is another advantage. To continue improving practice, I believe the agenda at university-based teaching and learning centers should include more opportunity for faculty development. I am currently working on creating case studies that explore the best practices and key challenges of executive learning in the hope of advancing our thinking on how to elevate the quality of exec ed offerings both on-site and virtually.

Here’s the bottom line: online executive education can continue delivering the high value our participants expect. In fact, as these examples show, there’s ample opportunity for instructors to take their pedagogy to the next level.

*The author thanks Dr. Alexandra Sedlovskaya (Christensen Center, Harvard Business School), Professor Barbara Stöttinger (Vienna Executive Academy), and Milla Elias (Università di Torino) for their review and helpful comments on this article.

Eugene B. Kogan , Ph.D. teaches about power dynamics in negotiation and leadership at Harvard Division of Continuing Education’s Professional Development programs and conducts research at Harvard Business School. A former visiting scholar at Harvard Law School’s East Asian Legal Studies Program, he recently concluded his five-year term as the inaugural research and executive director of Harvard University’s American Secretaries of State Project, which aimed to crystallize negotiation and leadership lessons from 50 years of diplomacy by all living U.S. Secretaries of State from Henry Kissinger to Rex Tillerson.

Related Articles

We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience, including personalizing content. Learn More . By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies and revised Privacy Policy .

• Harvard Business School →
• Executive Education →

Executive Education

For nearly 75 years, Harvard Business School Executive Education has been fulfilling its mission of educating leaders who shape the practice of business and innovation around the world. Through an impressive network of global research centers and offices in 13 countries, the HBS faculty forges powerful alliances with leaders of industry, government, and academia. The groundbreaking research they mine is transformed into breakthrough leadership insights that are delivered in our state-of-the-art classrooms in Boston and Mumbai, and in our programs in Europe, Middle East, Africa, and throughout the world. Annually, more than 10,000 senior executives take advantage of an open-enrollment or custom program to transform their leadership and their global companies.

Harvard Business School offers four comprehensive leadership programs that prepare you to assume greater responsibility. Designed for individuals at all levels—from top executives and general managers to up-and-coming leaders and business owners—each intensive program delivers what companies need most: outstanding leaders who can improve corporate performance and drive competitive advantage.

→ View Programs

Programs in China

Senior Executive Leadership Program—China

Dates: 13 OCT 2024–25 APR 2025

LOCATION   United States, China

FEE  580,000 RMB

Programs in Europe

Value Creation Through Effective Boards

Dates: 27–30 MAY 2024

LOCATION   Europe

FEE  € 7,480; IESE Member Rate: € 6,732

Programs in India

Senior Executive Leadership Program—India

Dates: 13 JAN–05 SEP 2025

LOCATION   India, United States

FEE  ₹40,00,000 plus Goods and Services Tax (GST)

Programs in Africa

There are no upcoming programs at this time

Programs in the Middle East

Senior Executive Program—Africa

Dates: 26 MAY–30 AUG 2024

LOCATION   Middle East, , United States

FEE  $26,000

Senior Executive Leadership Program—Middle East

Dates: 09 FEB–12 DEC 2025

LOCATION   United States, Middle East

FEE  $80,000 USD plus Value Added Tax (VAT)

Participant Stories

Zoya Sakr Co-Founder and Group Editor in Chief Online Lifestyle Network (OLN), UAE

Jad Karam Chief Executive Officer Sarooj Construction Company, Oman

Abdulrahman Alkanhal Vice President The Royal Court of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Saudi Arabia

Waseem Khayata Managing Director of Investment Finance House, Dubai

Hala Matar Choufany President HVS Middle East and Africa, Dubai

Darshan Chandaria Director and Group CEO Chandaria, Kenya

Diane Karusisi Chief Executive Officer Bank of Kigali, Rwanda, Africa

Kasturi Wilson Managing Director, Sri Lanka Hemas Pharmaceuticals, MD Hemas Logistics, MD Hemas Martitime

Radhakrishnan Kodakkal Senior Director of Research & Development Philips India Limited, India

Alka Upadhyay Assistant Vice President Tata Sustainability Group, India

Gloria Nyambok Managing Director KCB Bank Burundi, Africa

Henry Njoroge Managing Executive Vodacom Mozambique, Africa

Leadership in Crises

Program Fee : The program fee includes tuition, housing, curricular materials and most meals. Executive Certificate : This program is a core program in the Public Leadership concentration. This program can also be used as a third program for any concentration in the  Executive Certificate series. Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs): This program aligns with one or more Executive Core Qualifications .

Program Overview

Public health emergencies. Natural disasters. Infrastructure failures. Major technology breaches. Terrorist attacks. These are the kinds of extraordinary challenges that leaders like you face every day. Do you feel fully prepared to handle them?

Leadership in Crises is a five-day executive program designed to prepare you to successfully manage, survive, and recover from the unexpected. During the on-campus program, you will learn how to build the expertise needed to ensure a more successful crisis management process. You will also learn how to effectively gather critical information, adapt to unique circumstances, and prioritize effectively.

Led by faculty chairs Herman B. (Dutch) Leonard and Arnold Howitt, the curriculum explores how to build bridges across boundaries—presenting perspectives on planning, training and implementing—so that senior managers like you can have systems in place in advance of a critical event. 

PROGRAM CURRICULUM

The on-campus program features intensive, interactive discussions using the Harvard case-study method, supplemented by lectures with faculty, and group exercises.

Through the use of case studies, Leadership in Crises will task you with tackling real-world issues. Together with a global cohort in the classroom, you will work through possible approaches and solutions to problems that actual managers have confronted. The case teaching reveals the power of a diverse learning group and makes for open and lively discussion.

Samples of cases used during  Leadership in Crises  include:

• The Triple Catastrophe: Japan’s Earthquake, Tsunami, and Nuclear Crisis
• Ready in Advance: The City of Tuscaloosa’s Response to the 4/27/11 Tornado
• The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: The Politics of Crisis Response
• Columbia’s Final Mission

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Leadership in Crises  will provide you a with a greater understanding of:

• Dynamics of emergencies overall and what differentiates crisis situations from routine emergencies
• Role leadership plays in crafting and executing appropriate responses and preparing organizations in advance of a crisis
• Multiple dimensions of situational awareness
• Skills leaders need for working decisively in the highly concentrated timeframe of an emergency, while maintaining a focus on managing and motivating a team
• Critical coordination demands of large-scale crises that engage multiple response organizations from many jurisdictions and levels of government
• Tensions that frequently arise between senior emergency management professionals and political leaders and how they can work together effectively

Application Information

Recommended applicants.

Leadership in Crises  is designed for experienced professionals, which fosters a spirit of lively and informed conversation.

Recommended applicants include:

• Local, state, and federal officials in departments including but not limited to public works, public health, emergency medicine, transportation, homeland security, and education
• Elected officials who oversee emergency preparedness or participate in crisis response
• Senior leaders of first-response agencies
• Foreign Service, State Department, and other federal officials who craft or carry out responses to international humanitarian and diplomatic crises
• Active-duty military, Coast Guard, National Guard, or reserves who play roles in planning for or responding to disasters
• Executives in the corporate and nonprofit sectors with responsibility for disaster planning, management, or recovery, or those who oversee large public events

Sample Schedule

Immerse yourself with a cohort of fellow emerging leaders on Harvard’s historic campus. View the draft program schedule . Note that module titles, speakers, and sequence may change.

WHAT PARTICIPANTS ARE SAYING

“this program led me to reevaluate many of my current practices and views. i left with a renewed understanding and will return to my job reinvigorated.”, jim featherstone, gen. manager, emer. mgmt. dpt., city of la, hear from the faculty chair.

What have we learned since 9/11 about organizing responses to large-scale and novel attacks and other large-scale emergencies? Faculty Chair Dutch Leonard and co-authors reflect on the topic in this short essay.

Faculty & Research

Faculty chair.

Herman B. (Dutch) Leonard

Arnold Howitt

Harvard faculty and guest speakers.

Chris Combs

Juliette Kayyem

Deval Patrick

Joseph Pfeifer

James Schwartz

James Waldo

Related research.

• Public Health Preparedness: Case Studies in Policy and Management
• What is the Impact of the NIMS Mandate?
• Leadership in Routine Emergencies and Crises: The Deepwater Horizon Incident
• Coordination in Crises: Implementation of the National Incident Management System by Surface Transportation Agencies
• Why Was Boston Strong? Lessons from the Boston Marathon Bombing
• A Conversation with Juliette Kayyem

Related Resources

Admissions & financial information, contact executive education.

• Harvard Business School →
• Business & Environment →
• Executive Education →

Executive Education

Business & environment courses, agribusiness seminar.

• 12–15 JANUARY 2025 |

“ It filled me with confidence to find that the insights I had to offer were always regarded as important and valuable, and I learned a great deal from the diverse perspectives and experiences of my classmates. ”

• SUGGESTED TOPICS
• The Magazine
• Newsletters
• Managing Yourself
• Managing Teams
• Work-life Balance
• The Big Idea
• Data & Visuals
• Reading Lists
• Case Selections
• HBR Learning
• Topic Feeds
• Account Settings
• Email Preferences

When Your Colleagues Have an Outdated Perception of You

• Darcy Eikenberg

If you want others to see how you’ve grown, you need to show them.

As we grow or change, our identity transitions are often invisible — unless we do the work to help others see our changes. This can be particularly true for people who have worked at a company for a long time. If you’re feeling like your colleagues aren’t recognizing your growth, the authors recommend three strategies: 1) Get clear on the differences between how you are perceived and how you want to be perceived; 2) Let go of work you may still be doing that was associated with your previous role; and 3) Don’t be shy about persuading stakeholders that you’ve changed.

Ten years ago, Tasha* was the seventh employee at her medical software startup, hired as an administrative assistant to the chief sales officer. Today, she’s grown to manage a team of eight sales people collectively responsible for $22 million in revenue. When the chief sales officer announced his retirement recently, Tasha expected to be considered for the role.

• Darcy Eikenberg , PCC, is an executive coach and leadership speaker focused on helping leaders solve their people problems inside complex organizations. A former partner at global HR consulting firm Hewitt Associates (now part of Aon), her clients include Mondelẽz International, PwC, Workday, Discover and more. She’s the author of Red Cape Rescue: Save Your Career Without Leaving Your Job. Connect with her on Linkedin here .
• Sarah Mann , PCC, is an executive coach and speaker who empowers driven female leaders to break the glass ceiling and navigate their professional journey with more clarity, confidence, and ease. Previously, Sarah held leadership roles in HR, marketing, and operations at companies such as AMP Agency and ADP. Connect with her on LinkedIn and download her free Leadership Fluency framework .

Partner Center

On The Site

Harvard educational review.

Edited by Maya Alkateb-Chami, Jane Choi, Jeannette Garcia Coppersmith, Ron Grady, Phoebe A. Grant-Robinson, Pennie M. Gregory, Jennifer Ha, Woohee Kim, Catherine E. Pitcher, Elizabeth Salinas, Caroline Tucker, Kemeyawi Q. Wahpepah

Individuals

Institutions.

• Read the journal here

Journal Information

• ISSN: 0017-8055
• eISSN: 1943-5045
• Keywords: scholarly journal, education research
• First Issue: 1930
• Frequency: Quarterly

Description

The Harvard Educational Review (HER) is a scholarly journal of opinion and research in education. The Editorial Board aims to publish pieces from interdisciplinary and wide-ranging fields that advance our understanding of educational theory, equity, and practice. HER encourages submissions from established and emerging scholars, as well as from practitioners working in the field of education. Since its founding in 1930, HER has been central to elevating pieces and debates that tackle various dimensions of educational justice, with circulation to researchers, policymakers, teachers, and administrators.

Our Editorial Board is composed entirely of doctoral students from the Harvard Graduate School of Education who review all manuscripts considered for publication. For more information on the current Editorial Board, please see here.

A subscription to the Review includes access to the full-text electronic archives at our Subscribers-Only-Website .

Editorial Board

2023-2024 Harvard Educational Review Editorial Board Members

Maya Alkateb-Chami Development and Partnerships Editor, 2023-2024 Editor, 2022-2024 [email protected]

Maya Alkateb-Chami is a PhD student at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Her research focuses on the role of schooling in fostering just futures—specifically in relation to language of instruction policies in multilingual contexts and with a focus on epistemic injustice. Prior to starting doctoral studies, she was the Managing Director of Columbia University’s Human Rights Institute, where she supported and co-led a team of lawyers working to advance human rights through research, education, and advocacy. Prior to that, she was the Executive Director of Jusoor, a nonprofit organization that helps conflict-affected Syrian youth and children pursue their education in four countries. Alkateb-Chami is a Fulbright Scholar and UNESCO cultural heritage expert. She holds an MEd in Language and Literacy from Harvard University; an MSc in Education from Indiana University, Bloomington; and a BA in Political Science from Damascus University, and her research on arts-based youth empowerment won the annual Master’s Thesis Award of the U.S. Society for Education Through Art.

Jane Choi Editor, 2023-2025

Jane Choi is a second-year PhD student in Sociology with broad interests in culture, education, and inequality. Her research examines intra-racial and interracial boundaries in US educational contexts. She has researched legacy and first-generation students at Ivy League colleges, families served by Head Start and Early Head Start programs, and parents of pre-K and kindergarten-age children in the New York City School District. Previously, Jane worked as a Research Assistant in the Family Well-Being and Children’s Development policy area at MDRC and received a BA in Sociology from Columbia University.

Jeannette Garcia Coppersmith Content Editor, 2023-2024 Editor, 2022-2024 [email protected]

Jeannette Garcia Coppersmith is a fourth-year Education PhD student in the Human Development, Learning and Teaching concentration at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. A former public middle and high school mathematics teacher and department chair, she is interested in understanding the mechanisms that contribute to disparities in secondary mathematics education, particularly how teacher beliefs and biases intersect with the social-psychological processes and pedagogical choices involved in math teaching. Jeannette holds an EdM in Learning and Teaching from the Harvard Graduate School of Education where she studied as an Urban Scholar and a BA in Environmental Sciences from the University of California, Berkeley.

Ron Grady Editor, 2023-2025

Ron Grady is a second-year doctoral student in the Human Development, Learning, and Teaching concentration at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. His central curiosities involve the social worlds and peer cultures of young children, wondering how lived experience is both constructed within and revealed throughout play, the creation of art and narrative, and through interaction with/production of visual artifacts such as photography and film. Ron also works extensively with educators interested in developing and deepening practices rooted in reflection on, inquiry into, and translation of the social, emotional, and aesthetic aspects of their classroom ecosystems. Prior to his doctoral studies, Ron worked as a preschool teacher in New Orleans. He holds a MS in Early Childhood Education from the Erikson Institute and a BA in Psychology with Honors in Education from Stanford University.

Phoebe A. Grant-Robinson Editor, 2023-2024

Phoebe A. Grant-Robinson is a first year student in the Doctor of Education Leadership(EdLD) program at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Her ultimate quest is to position all students as drivers of their destiny. Phoebe is passionate about early learning and literacy. She is committed to ensuring that districts and school leaders, have the necessary tools to create equitable learning organizations that facilitate the academic and social well-being of all students. Phoebe is particularly interested in the intersection of homeless students and literacy. Prior to her doctoral studies, Phoebe was a Special Education Instructional Specialist. Supporting a portfolio of more than thirty schools, she facilitated the rollout of New York City’s Special Education Reform. Phoebe also served as an elementary school principal. She holds a BS in Inclusive Education from Syracuse University, and an MS in Curriculum and Instruction from Pace University.

Pennie M. Gregory Editor, 2023-2024

Pennie M. Gregory is a second-year student in the Doctor of Education Leadership (EdLD) program at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Pennie was born in Incheon, South Korea and raised in Gary, Indiana. She has decades of experience leading efforts to improve outcomes for students with disabilities first as a special education teacher and then as a school district special education administrator. Prior to her doctoral studies, Pennie helped to create Indiana’s first Aspiring Special Education Leadership Institute (ASELI) and served as its Director. She was also the Capacity Events Director for MelanatED Leaders, an organization created to support educational leaders of color in Indianapolis. Pennie has a unique perspective, having worked with members of the school community, with advocacy organizations, and supporting state special education leaders. Pennie holds an EdM in Education Leadership from Marian University.

Jennifer Ha Editor, 2023-2025

Jen Ha is a second-year PhD student in the Culture, Institutions, and Society concentration at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Her research explores how high school students learn to write personal narratives for school applications, scholarships, and professional opportunities amidst changing landscapes in college access and admissions. Prior to doctoral studies, Jen served as the Coordinator of Public Humanities at Bard Graduate Center and worked in several roles organizing academic enrichment opportunities and supporting postsecondary planning for students in New Haven and New York City. Jen holds a BA in Humanities from Yale University, where she was an Education Studies Scholar.

Woohee Kim Editor, 2023-2025

Woohee Kim is a PhD student studying youth activists’ civic and pedagogical practices. She is a scholar-activist dedicated to creating spaces for pedagogies of resistance and transformative possibilities. Shaped by her activism and research across South Korea, the US, and the UK, Woohee seeks to interrogate how educational spaces are shaped as cultural and political sites and reshaped by activists as sites of struggle. She hopes to continue exploring the intersections of education, knowledge, power, and resistance.

Catherine E. Pitcher Editor, 2023-2025

Catherine is a second-year doctoral student at Harvard Graduate School of Education in the Culture, Institutions, and Society program. She has over 10 years of experience in education in the US in roles that range from special education teacher to instructional coach to department head to educational game designer. She started working in Palestine in 2017, first teaching, and then designing and implementing educational programming. Currently, she is working on research to understand how Palestinian youth think about and build their futures and continues to lead programming in the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem. She holds an EdM from Harvard in International Education Policy.

Elizabeth Salinas Editor, 2023-2025

Elizabeth Salinas is a doctoral student in the Education Policy and Program Evaluation concentration at HGSE. She is interested in the intersection of higher education and the social safety net and hopes to examine policies that address basic needs insecurity among college students. Before her doctoral studies, Liz was a research director at a public policy consulting firm. There, she supported government, education, and philanthropy leaders by conducting and translating research into clear and actionable information. Previously, Liz served as a high school physics teacher in her hometown in Texas and as a STEM outreach program director at her alma mater. She currently sits on the Board of Directors at Leadership Enterprise for a Diverse America, a nonprofit organization working to diversify the leadership pipeline in the United States. Liz holds a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a master’s degree in higher education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Caroline Tucker Co-Chair, 2023-2024 Editor, 2022-2024 [email protected]

Caroline Tucker is a fourth-year doctoral student in the Culture, Institutions, and Society concentration at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Her research focuses on the history and organizational dynamics of women’s colleges as women gained entry into the professions and coeducation took root in the United States. She is also a research assistant for the Harvard and the Legacy of Slavery Initiative’s Subcommittee on Curriculum and the editorial assistant for Into Practice, the pedagogy newsletter distributed by Harvard University’s Office of the Vice Provost for Advances in Learning. Prior to her doctoral studies, Caroline served as an American politics and English teaching fellow in London and worked in college advising. Caroline holds a BA in History from Princeton University, an MA in the Social Sciences from the University of Chicago, and an EdM in Higher Education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Kemeyawi Q. Wahpepah Co-Chair, 2023-2024 Editor, 2022-2024 [email protected]

Kemeyawi Q. Wahpepah (Kickapoo, Sac & Fox) is a fourth-year doctoral student in the Culture, Institutions, and Society concentration at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Their research explores how settler colonialism is addressed in K-12 history and social studies classrooms in the United States. Prior to their doctoral studies, Kemeyawi taught middle and high school English and history for eleven years in Boston and New York City. They hold an MS in Middle Childhood Education from Hunter College and an AB in Social Studies from Harvard University.

Submission Information

Click here to view submission guidelines .

Contact Information

Click here to view contact information for the editorial board and customer service .

Subscriber Support

Individual subscriptions must have an individual name in the given address for shipment. Individual copies are not for multiple readers or libraries. Individual accounts come with a personal username and password for access to online archives. Online access instructions will be attached to your order confirmation e-mail.

Institutional rates apply to libraries and organizations with multiple readers. Institutions receive digital access to content on Meridian from IP addresses via theIPregistry.org (by sending HER your PSI Org ID).

Online access instructions will be attached to your order confirmation e-mail. If you have questions about using theIPregistry.org you may find the answers in their FAQs. Otherwise please let us know at [email protected] .

How to Subscribe

To order online via credit card, please use the subscribe button at the top of this page.

To order by phone, please call 888-437-1437.

Checks can be mailed to Harvard Educational Review C/O Fulco, 30 Broad Street, Suite 6, Denville, NJ 07834. (Please include reference to your subscriber number if you are renewing. Institutions must include their PSI Org ID or follow up with this information via email to [email protected] .)

Permissions

Click here to view permissions information.

Article Submission FAQ

Submissions, question: “what manuscripts are a good fit for her ”.

Answer: As a generalist scholarly journal, HER publishes on a wide range of topics within the field of education and related disciplines. We receive many articles that deserve publication, but due to the restrictions of print publication, we are only able to publish very few in the journal. The originality and import of the findings, as well as the accessibility of a piece to HER’s interdisciplinary, international audience which includes education practitioners, are key criteria in determining if an article will be selected for publication.

We strongly recommend that prospective authors review the current and past issues of HER to see the types of articles we have published recently. If you are unsure whether your manuscript is a good fit, please reach out to the Content Editor at [email protected] .

Question: “What makes HER a developmental journal?”

Answer: Supporting the development of high-quality education research is a key tenet of HER’s mission. HER promotes this development through offering comprehensive feedback to authors. All manuscripts that pass the first stage of our review process (see below) receive detailed feedback. For accepted manuscripts, HER also has a unique feedback process called casting whereby two editors carefully read a manuscript and offer overarching suggestions to strengthen and clarify the argument.

Question: “What is a Voices piece and how does it differ from an essay?”

Answer: Voices pieces are first-person reflections about an education-related topic rather than empirical or theoretical essays. Our strongest pieces have often come from educators and policy makers who draw on their personal experiences in the education field. Although they may not present data or generate theory, Voices pieces should still advance a cogent argument, drawing on appropriate literature to support any claims asserted. For examples of Voices pieces, please see Alvarez et al. (2021) and Snow (2021).

Question: “Does HER accept Book Note or book review submissions?”

Answer: No, all Book Notes are written internally by members of the Editorial Board.

Question: “If I want to submit a book for review consideration, who do I contact?”

Answer: Please send details about your book to the Content Editor at [email protected].

Manuscript Formatting

Question: “the submission guidelines state that manuscripts should be a maximum of 9,000 words – including abstract, appendices, and references. is this applicable only for research articles, or should the word count limit be followed for other manuscripts, such as essays”.

Answer: The 9,000-word limit is the same for all categories of manuscripts.

Question: “We are trying to figure out the best way to mask our names in the references. Is it OK if we do not cite any of our references in the reference list? Our names have been removed in the in-text citations. We just cite Author (date).”

Answer: Any references that identify the author/s in the text must be masked or made anonymous (e.g., instead of citing “Field & Bloom, 2007,” cite “Author/s, 2007”). For the reference list, place the citations alphabetically as “Author/s. (2007)” You can also indicate that details are omitted for blind review. Articles can also be blinded effectively by use of the third person in the manuscript. For example, rather than “in an earlier article, we showed that” substitute something like “as has been shown in Field & Bloom, 2007.” In this case, there is no need to mask the reference in the list. Please do not submit a title page as part of your manuscript. We will capture the contact information and any author statement about the fit and scope of the work in the submission form. Finally, please save the uploaded manuscript as the title of the manuscript and do not include the author/s name/s.

Invitations

Question: “can i be invited to submit a manuscript how”.

Answer: If you think your manuscript is a strong fit for HER, we welcome a request for invitation. Invited manuscripts receive one round of feedback from Editors before the piece enters the formal review process. To submit information about your manuscript, please complete the Invitation Request Form . Please provide as many details as possible. The decision to invite a manuscript largely depends on the capacity of current Board members and on how closely the proposed manuscript reflects HER publication scope and criteria. Once you submit the form, We hope to update you in about 2–3 weeks, and will let you know whether there are Editors who are available to invite the manuscript.

Review Timeline

Question: “who reviews manuscripts”.

Answer: All manuscripts are reviewed by the Editorial Board composed of doctoral students at Harvard University.

Question: “What is the HER evaluation process as a student-run journal?”

Answer: HER does not utilize the traditional external peer review process and instead has an internal, two-stage review procedure.

Upon submission, every manuscript receives a preliminary assessment by the Content Editor to confirm that the formatting requirements have been carefully followed in preparation of the manuscript, and that the manuscript is in accord with the scope and aim of the journal. The manuscript then formally enters the review process.

In the first stage of review, all manuscripts are read by a minimum of two Editorial Board members. During the second stage of review, manuscripts are read by the full Editorial Board at a weekly meeting.

Question: “How long after submission can I expect a decision on my manuscript?”

Answer: It usually takes 6 to 10 weeks for a manuscript to complete the first stage of review and an additional 12 weeks for a manuscript to complete the second stage. Due to time constraints and the large volume of manuscripts received, HER only provides detailed comments on manuscripts that complete the second stage of review.

Question: “How soon are accepted pieces published?”

Answer: The date of publication depends entirely on how many manuscripts are already in the queue for an issue. Typically, however, it takes about 6 months post-acceptance for a piece to be published.

Submission Process

Question: “how do i submit a manuscript for publication in her”.

Answer: Manuscripts are submitted through HER’s Submittable platform, accessible here. All first-time submitters must create an account to access the platform. You can find details on our submission guidelines on our Submissions page.

• There are no upcoming events.

Events Search and Views Navigation

Event views navigation.

• Google Calendar
• Outlook 365
• Outlook Live
• Export .ics file
• Export Outlook .ics file

News from the School

From public servant to public health student

Exploring the intersection of health, mindfulness, and climate change

Conference aims to help experts foster health equity

Building solidarity to face global injustice

Virtual Programs

Accepting applications, 07 jan–08 apr 2025, virtual synchronous learning at designated live online session times..

"Virtual programs provide executives with the opportunity to learn critical leadership skills—live and in real time."

Live online programs bring our unparalleled learning experience to you..

"An HBS Executive Education virtual program is an all-in experience that allows you to be fully immersed in the learning experience, connect with the world-class professors and experienced executives in deep personal conversations, and learn from the best in the field, in the comfort of your own home." Hui Cheng Tan, Director of Sales Excellence, Microsoft

You cannot select more than 3 programs for comparison

You must select 2 or 3 programs for comparison, you have already selected a different session for this program. you will see all sessions for this program during the comparison, please update your selection to include 2 or 3 different programs..

View Frequently Asked Questions

Subscribe to Our Emails