Contexts for agency: A framework for managing educational development work

Abstract

Often working in multiple roles and operating at multiple scales, educational developers deal with layered tensions and a complex context that can be difficult for an individual or team to reconcile. In May 2020, the authors participated in a cross-institutional scholarly project (XXXXX) designed to explore the impact of multiple crises (e.g. the COVID-19 pandemic and our collective civil and political unrest) and associated large-scale instructional changes on educational developers and their work. The contexts for agency framework reflects the project's emergent theme that the circumstances in which we act have considerable influence on our decision-making. Specifically, the framework identifies identity, institution, and impact as critical contexts for the decisions educational developers make. The authors highlight multiple benefits to analyzing what we know--and what we don't know--about our respective contexts and offer suggestions for applying the framework using a template for structured reflection.

Coda: A wicked problems mindset for educational development

“…This opportunity depends on recognizing the relative "locus of influence" that each educational developer has. The articles in this volume make this clear by offering a spectrum of responses to a wicked problems mindset, from leveraging the "contexts of agency" related to professional "identity, institution, and impact" (Landy et al, 2022) to the ethos ("wicked consciousness") that educational developers bring to new collaborations and partnerships (Smith et al, 2022; see also Chen et al, 2022;Dietz et al, 2022;Hatfield et al, 2022;McCreary, 2022;Wise et al, 2022).…”

“…. to leverage their power to cultivate a more just society" (Landy et al, 2022) is what links day-to-day practice to a wicked problems mindset. This call spans from inclusive and collaborative "slow change" strategies such as DATs (Wise et al, 2022) to emerging, long-term, and uncertain work such as responding to systemic and racial injustice (Dietz et al, 2022).…”