ABOUT WACRA®


Executive Board
Advisory Board
Standards Committee

WACRA Staff
 
History
Founded in 1984, the World Association for Case Method Research & Case Method Application (WACRA
®) evolved from contacts of professors, researchers, policy-makers, professionals and business executives into a worldwide interdisciplinary organization. These individuals shared the common interest of studying and applying the Case Method in research, teaching, planning, training and development.
   
   
   

Professionals and academicians from sixty five countries have participated in international (summer) conferences on Case Method Research & Application in Lausanne, Switzerland (1980), London, UK (1984, 1985, 1987), Boston, U.S.A. (1988, 1989), Enschede, Netherlands (1990), Berlin Germany (1991), Limerick, Ireland (1992), Bratislava, Slovakia - Vienna, Austria (1993), Montreal, Canada (1994), Leysin, Switzerland (1995), Warsaw, Poland (1996), Edinburgh, Scotland (1997), Marseille, France (1998), Cáceres, Spain (1999), Budapest, Hungary (2000), Lund, Sweden, (2001), Mannheim, Germany, (2002), Bordeaux, France (2003), Buenos Aires, Argentina (2004) and Brno, Czech Republic (2005), Brisbane, Australia, Guadalajara, Mexico, Barranquilla, Colombia, Odense, Denmark, Istanbul, Turkey, Lima, Peru, Graz, Austria.

Since 1998, WACRA and ACT - The Academy for Creative Teaching - cooperate in a series of winter conferences on Creative Teaching. The first seven ACT conferences were held in Lucerne, Switzerland in Vienna, Austria. ACT8 met in San Juan, Puerto Rico, U.S.A. and ACT9 convened in Bolzano, Italy (South Tyrol) 2006. From 2007 to 2017 ACT conference took place in Lucca, Italy, Munich, Germany, Sedona, AZ, U.S.A., Cologne, Germany, Seville, Spain, Casablanca, Morocco, Paris, France, Vienna, Austria, Rome, Italy, Barcelona, Spain.

Please visit the WACRA website www.wacra.org for details and dates on other activities and future conferences.

The Case Method
The Case Method can be defined in a broad sense by contrasting it with the lecture method. Instead of textbooks, the Case Method uses partial, historical descriptions of specific situations enabling students to discover and develop their own unique framework for problem-solving. The Case Method achieves this goal efficiently and effectively. Data and information are presented in narrative form to encourage student involvement by solving problems actively, by identifying sources of information necessary for problem-solving, by engaging in critical thinking and through group work. (The group work contributes to the development of individuals able and willing to work collegially, etc.). Although "cases" have been used in one form or another by both law and medicine for a long time, the Case Method in the teaching of management and other disciplines is relatively new. The Harvard Business School is well known for its innovative role in this regard. The method has applications far beyond the managerial, business orientation so familiar to many.

New applications for the Case Method in disciplines other than management and business are being explored and research is being conducted on this basis. The Case Method is increasingly applied in higher education and educational administration, the instruction (and operation) of the social sciences, the arts, engineering, agriculture, strategic policy planning, and personnel development in different parts of the world.

Although Case Research is often strongly associated with business programs, the reality is that across many disciplines, particularly in professional programs, the use of short, 'situational' cases is widespread. Think about the kind of 'signature' pedagogy that characterizes education and training in law, medicine, clinical practice of all kinds, counseling and justice studies, for example, there is a vibrant case culture grounded in the 'short case'. Short case studies, grounded in a real world setting, with focused learning objectives, presented and discussed at WACRA conferences are opportunities to have the scholarship of the 'short case' recognized as a distinct contribution to teaching and learning. The established manuscript and review processes for case submissions apply as well as proposals for panels and workshops.

The development and increasing affordability of new communication technologies is changing the educational environment for teachers, trainers and students. Institutions worldwide are investigating and investing in distance education, video-based instruction, and computer-assisted instruction. Over twenty volumes of international case method research papers, cases and presentations attest to WACRA's success in providing an important forum in "managing change in multi-cultural settings" and in promoting cross cultural dialogue and development in Higher Education and training.

Objectives
The objectives of WACRA are to explain, research and advance the use of the case method in teaching, planning and training at all levels; to promote and encourage research using the case method, with special emphasis placed on studying the teaching effectiveness in varied teaching-learning systems; to coordinate development of interactive pedagogical methods involving the case method, simulations and games; to augment the available body of research and teaching materials; to foster interdisciplinary applications and to encourage cooperation with the public sector, the business community and other case method oriented professional specialties on a worldwide basis.

Functions
WACRA's main function at the present time is to coordinate research, to facilitate the organization of forums, public discussions, workshops, training sessions, lectures and conferences and develop a worldwide network. WACRA organizes annual conferences at various locations around the world to provide opportunities and encourage the exchange of ideas, the presentation of planned, on-going and completed research, and the sharing of applications, simulations and games. Papers and manuscripts accepted (double blind peer review - acceptance rate for publication on average is between thirty and forty percent) and presented at the annual conferences are published. The WACRA NEWSLETTER informs members about ongoing research projects, employment (exchange) opportunities, new publications and releases, curriculum development and other developments in interactive pedagogy. WACRA supports and cooperates with national Case Method Organizations, with Case Clearing Houses worldwide.

WACRA® Refereed Journal – IJCRA
The International Journal of Case Method Research & Application – IJCRA - is the authoritative Journal of the Word Association for Case Method Research & Application. The Journal continues a long WACRA tradition of educational leadership and pioneering in case method research and application and state-of-the-art contributions to the theory and practice of learning and teaching with cases. IJCRA’s editorial board is representative of WACRA’s international membership, interests and goals. To-date, thirty-one quarterly issues have been published, including one devoted to Service Learning projects, one on the ‘alleviation of poverty through education’ and five Spanish language issues. The Journal is listed in Cabell’s Publishing Opportunities in Management.

WACRA® Website and WACRA®NEWSletter
Inform members on case method activities: up-coming events, conference announcements, call for papers and invitations to workshops, links to case teaching and case writing organizations worldwide, reports on case teaching and writing activities at member institutions and reports on the activities of WACRA® members and their milestone achievements.

WACRA® Forums and Conferences
WACRA® organizes forums, symposia, workshops, model demonstrations and training sessions (conducted by world renowned experts), conferences, including an annual international meeting at which participants have the opportunity to exchange ideas, present their research, and share the results of case writing and case method applications.

Delegates from around the world present their ideas and proposals on interactive, interdisciplinary, inter-cultural and international teaching and learning. They report on case method research (on-going and completed), case writing, simulations and new innovative uses of multimedia and interactive teaching methods and applications.

Advantages of Membership
Membership in WACRA is open to all individuals and organizations wishing to advance the objectives of the association. As a member you receive the WACRA NEWSLETTER, substantial discounts on WACRA publications, preferential rates at all WACRA sponsored meetings, notices of all activities and calls for papers. As a member you can receive training and assistance in case writing and teaching; once you are a member, payment of full registration fee for any meeting includes membership in WACRA for the following calendar. You have the opportunity for networking, consulting and to associate with other professionals working with cases, simulations and games on a truly international scale.

Membership
Membership in WACRA is open to all individuals and organizations in all countries who wish to advance the objectives of the association and to advance professional standards in the field. The various classes of membership and annual dues which provide for the continuing support of WACRA, are as follows:

  • Regular USD 85: Any individual (teacher, researcher, government official or representative, business executive, attorney, consultant) who wishes to assist actively in attaining the goals of WACRA.
  • Organization USD 785: includes membership for up to ten faculty members.
  • Associate (Advanced Students)USD 75
  • Retired Faculty USD 45
  • Library Subscription Rate per year USD 1050

You are cordially invited to join, to participate and to share your expertise and experiences with colleagues from around the world.