Building a framework of a supportive pedagogical culture for teaching and pedagogical development in higher education

Abstract

The teaching and pedagogical development of academic communities is influenced by different contextual elements, which may not be apparent in everyday community practices, but may become evident through deeper reflection of the context. This study approaches these elements from the perspective of a supportive pedagogical culture for teaching and pedagogical development. The data consist of Finnish university teachers’ descriptions of teaching and its development in their work communities through thematic interviews (N = 51). Through inductive qualitative content analysis, meaningful elements of the communities’ pedagogical culture were identified, which represent (a) values and attitudes, (b) norms and principles, and (c) practices and structures in the community. The study proposes a framework of supportive elements of pedagogical culture that should be acknowledged when promoting the development of teaching in university communities. Based on the findings, it is especially important to establish a culture of sharing and to promote the value of teaching through various cultural elements.

Preparing university teachers for times of uncertainty: the role of a transnational pedagogical-development training in Palestinian higher education

“…For instance, Timperley (2008) showed that teacher development depends heavily on the organisational conditions that nurture professional learning and self-regulated inquiry. Myllykoski-Laine et al. (2022) asserted that academic development should be encapsulated in institutional norms, structures and discourses.…”

“…That said, the transnational PDT at hand appears in line with scholarly efforts aimed to define the bold lines of any pedagogical-developmental initiative. The role of university administration is, thus, to offer helping hands to sustain such change and push it forward (Myllykoski-Laine et al, 2022). For example, university pedagogy centres may offer continuous consultation services for teachers to develop their teaching practices.…”

“…For instance, in a recent study on what contributes to experienced academics' pedagogical development in HE, McCune (2018) found that collegial conversation was one of the three focal areas to emerge from the data. More recently, Myllykoski-Laine et al. (2022) reported that the lack of collegiality was perceived as being negative to university teachers' pedagogical development and establishing a culture of sharing is crucial and recommended.…”

“…For instance, Timperley (2008) showed that teacher development depends heavily on the organisational conditions that nurture professional learning and self-regulated inquiry. Myllykoski-Laine et al (2022) asserted that academic development should be encapsulated in institutional norms, structures and discourses. McCune (2018) accentuated the institutional role in embracing collaboration and allowing time and resources that promotes development and not rely only on teachers' initiative themselves.…”

Are we there (yet?): An analysis of SoTL institutionalization at University College Cork

“…This chapter joins a conversation that has been developing internationally, including Europe (Myllykoski-Laine et al, 2022), North America (Kenny et al, 2016;Newton et al, 2019;Wise et al, 2022;Wuetherick & Yu, 2016), the UK (McEwan, 2022;Webb & Tierney, 2020), Australia and Singapore (Myatt et al, 2018), South Africa (Boughey, 2011;Vithal, 2018), and New Zealand (Haigh et al, 2011). We believe a lens of self-reflection on our efforts to integrate SoTL within the fabric of an institution to be a worthwhile exercise to uncover the specifics of how "significant networks" and leadership operate within our context (Mårtensson et al, 2011;Roxå et al, 2008;Verwoord & Poole, 2016) and hope the insights generated can contribute to a growing understanding of institutionalization of SoTL in Higher Education.…”