Effectiveness and ethics in educational development: Changing contexts, changing notions

Pedagogically aware academics’ conceptions of change agency in the fields of science and technology

“…Thus indicating a desire to develop one's teaching within a research-oriented community can be pose a threat to one's identity as an academic (Taylor, 1997). The academics who try to mobilize their colleagues to engage in pedagogical development but who lack an official developer status are a marginalized group within the university system (Knight & Wilcox, 1998).…”

“…Mass participation in higher education, commercialization of public higher education, and changing national economic requirements have forced universities to reform their pedagogical practices (Doring, 2002;Taylor, 1997). The development pressure has increasingly focused on a programme rather than course level (Knight & Wilcox, 1998). Promoting the reforms has been typically assigned to centralized staff development programmes that aim at improving the teaching skills of individual academics (e.g.…”

“…Because academics are usually seen to preserve their traditional disciplinary orientations, their ability to initiate change within their own institutions has been widely questioned (Fletcher & Patrick, 1998;Hanrahan et al, 2001;Knight & Wilcox, 1998;Roche, 2001;Smyth, 2003). Previous research has identified several challenges related to intruding on the individualistic academic traditions, undermining the professional ideologies of colleagues, and compelling the academics to alter their work regardless of the time pressures, lack of resources, heavy workloads, and temporary contracts (Knight & Wilcox, 1998). However, as the university transformations are increasingly concerning all levels of organizational actors, there is a need to define change agency more broadly by including all pedagogically aware academics to the definition (Knight & Wilcox, 1998;Roche, 2001).…”

Drawing on the Principles of SoTL to Illuminate a Path Forward for the Scholarship of Educational Development

“…In the pursuit of scholarly and excellent teaching, instructors are supported by colleagues, teaching centres, and others in their development of teaching for the enhancement of student learning (Knight & Wilcox, 1998;Leibowitz, 2014;Taylor & Rege Colet, 2010). Existing as a distinct layer beyond the activity of teaching and student learning itself, "educational development … describe [s] actions, planned and undertaken, by faculty members themselves or by others working with faculty, aimed at enhancing teaching" (Amundsen & Wilson, 2012, p. 90).…”

“…Existing as a distinct layer beyond the activity of teaching and student learning itself, "educational development … describe [s] actions, planned and undertaken, by faculty members themselves or by others working with faculty, aimed at enhancing teaching" (Amundsen & Wilson, 2012, p. 90). Educational development is defined by its specific activities, purpose, and principles and further informed by the institutional, national, and disciplinary contexts where it is situated, as shaped by varying norms, priorities, agendas, and histories (Baume & Popovic, 2016;Knight & Wilcox, 1998;Taylor & Rege Colet, 2010).…”