8. Strategic Approaches to Academic Development: Relationship to Learning and Teaching
Most universities in Australia have established at least one organizational unit with a responsibility for academic development. While ‘academic’ could embrace all aspects of the role of academics, including research, innovation, and contributions to community and professional bodies, the expectatio...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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University of Windsor
2011-06-01
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| Series: | Collected Essays on Learning and Teaching |
| Online Access: | https://celt.uwindsor.ca/index.php/CELT/article/view/3202 |
| _version_ | 1811291689599369216 |
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| author | Peter Ling |
| author_facet | Peter Ling |
| author_sort | Peter Ling |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Most universities in Australia have established at least one organizational unit with a responsibility for academic development. While ‘academic’ could embrace all aspects of the role of academics, including research, innovation, and contributions to community and professional bodies, the expectation is that the focus will be on learning and teaching. In this paper, I address the extent to which – and the sense in which – this is true. I use the results of several surveys conducted in Australia in 2007 and information emerging from a forum of Australian university personnel associated with the development of academics. These sources show that academic development units often perform a range of functions that go beyond the development of learning and teaching. Reviewing the available data, I conclude that the current role of academic developers is very much influenced by strategic pursuits of universities. In this climate, the potential for academic development to operate with the integrity of a practice informed by the disciplined study of learning and teaching is more limited than it was during periods where the understanding of learning and teaching drove the enterprise. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-13T04:34:11Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-5ea60b484b8d43be949c93f405cef564 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2368-4526 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-13T04:34:11Z |
| publishDate | 2011-06-01 |
| publisher | University of Windsor |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Collected Essays on Learning and Teaching |
| spelling | doaj.art-5ea60b484b8d43be949c93f405cef5642022-12-22T03:02:14ZengUniversity of WindsorCollected Essays on Learning and Teaching2368-45262011-06-01210.22329/celt.v2i0.32028. Strategic Approaches to Academic Development: Relationship to Learning and TeachingPeter Ling0Swinburne University of TechnologyMost universities in Australia have established at least one organizational unit with a responsibility for academic development. While ‘academic’ could embrace all aspects of the role of academics, including research, innovation, and contributions to community and professional bodies, the expectation is that the focus will be on learning and teaching. In this paper, I address the extent to which – and the sense in which – this is true. I use the results of several surveys conducted in Australia in 2007 and information emerging from a forum of Australian university personnel associated with the development of academics. These sources show that academic development units often perform a range of functions that go beyond the development of learning and teaching. Reviewing the available data, I conclude that the current role of academic developers is very much influenced by strategic pursuits of universities. In this climate, the potential for academic development to operate with the integrity of a practice informed by the disciplined study of learning and teaching is more limited than it was during periods where the understanding of learning and teaching drove the enterprise.https://celt.uwindsor.ca/index.php/CELT/article/view/3202 |
| spellingShingle | Peter Ling 8. Strategic Approaches to Academic Development: Relationship to Learning and Teaching Collected Essays on Learning and Teaching |
| title | 8. Strategic Approaches to Academic Development: Relationship to Learning and Teaching |
| title_full | 8. Strategic Approaches to Academic Development: Relationship to Learning and Teaching |
| title_fullStr | 8. Strategic Approaches to Academic Development: Relationship to Learning and Teaching |
| title_full_unstemmed | 8. Strategic Approaches to Academic Development: Relationship to Learning and Teaching |
| title_short | 8. Strategic Approaches to Academic Development: Relationship to Learning and Teaching |
| title_sort | 8 strategic approaches to academic development relationship to learning and teaching |
| url | https://celt.uwindsor.ca/index.php/CELT/article/view/3202 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT peterling 8strategicapproachestoacademicdevelopmentrelationshiptolearningandteaching |