Proposal view
| Proposal Type: | Individual Paper |
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| Domain: | Higher Education |
| SIG: | Higher Education |
| Scheduling category: | Higher education |
| Type | Submitted Paper |
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Slide projector |
| Paper Details |
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| Paper type | Empirical |
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| Title | Faculty Development in Context: Learning Culture Inventory in Higher Education |
| Abstract | Faculty development is a widespread strategy to promote change in higher education teaching, but it may have limited impact in changing the teaching and learning cultures at universities if it is not accompanied by additional measures. Although there is some research that evidences the effectiveness of university teachers’ training and a range of positive changes that occur in teachers’ approaches to teaching and their students’ approaches to learning as a result of a pedagogical or initial training program (e.g., Gibbs & Coffey, 2004) oftentimes faculty members face cultural and structural barriers to more seriously invest into the quality of teaching. The aim of this paper is to systematise the contributions of relevant disciplines and fields of research to capture to concept of learning cultures, to point out promising aspects for the discussion in higher education, and to introduce the nature of the Learning Culture Inventory in Higher Education; an instrument designed to analyse the learning cultures of different universities and its impact on teachers following an initial training programme. At the core of the instrument is the description of the learning culture fostered in the programme and the interdependency of the teachers’ culture and the wider conditions in which their teaching takes place. The research is part of a wider project “Learning Cultures in Higher Education”, funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation and carried out at University of St. Gallen in cooperation with the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. |
| Summary | Faculty development is a widespread strategy to promote changes in higher education teaching, but it may have limited impact in changing the teaching and learning cultures if it is not accompanied by additional measures. Although there is research that evidences the effectiveness of university teachers’ training (e.g., Gibbs & Coffey, 2004) oftentimes faculty members face cultural and structural barriers to more seriously invest into teaching quality. Collie & Taylor (2004), in their study on how teaching quality can be improved by applying a learning organisation framework, defined learning cultures as (1) processes to promote learning and (2) a climate of openness, trust, and collaboration to support learning. If we are to determine characteristics of learning cultures in more detail, Hodkinson et al., (2004) and Hodkinson, Biesta & James (2007) offer a helpful classification: - learning cultures are influenced by the communities from which learners come, and the life histories, dispositions and practices of learners and staff. - learning cultures are developed partly through a negotiation with rules, norms and expectations associated with the wider HE learning culture. - learning cultures are characterized by a high level of synergy. Brown et al. (1989, cited in Hodkinson et al., 2004, p. 11) suggest that “authentic learning occurred when, in their terms, concepts, contexts and activities were mutually supportive –in synergy”. Although learning cultures are part of an organisation, it needs to be stated that universities as a complex (educational) organisation lack of a common organisational culture and therefore have great difficulties in reaching consensus over cultural meanings (Beyer, 1997). Given such diversity, different academic subcultures appear (e.g., Serow et al. 2002; Hofstede 1998). These subcultures place a strong influence on the beliefs, practices and dispositions of university teachers, specially beginning teachers. Beyer (1997, p. 156) suggests that the representatives of the individual disciplines incorporate different ideas and values about appropriate methods and goals for teaching their subject. In fact, it is assumed that the different subcultures in the working environment of a teacher as well as the organisational structure of a particular “learning site” can foster or undermine the efforts for quality teaching. The aim of this paper is to systematise contributions of relevant fields of research to capture the concept of learning cultures, point out promising aspects for higher education, and to introduce the Learning Culture Inventory in Higher Education (LCI-HE); an instrument designed by the authors to analyse the learning cultures of different universities and its impact on teachers following an initial training programme. At the core of the instrument is the description of the learning culture fostered in the specific programme and the interdependency of the teachers’ culture and the wider conditions in which their teaching takes place. In the presentation proposed, it is reported from LCI-HE results (quantitative and qualitative data) collected from two comparable faculty development programmes conducted at University of St. Gallen, Switzerland and Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Spain. Although the concept of learning cultures has a longstanding tradition (at least) in the German speaking discourse in describing the shift in teaching and learning according to constructivist principles (e.g., Weinberg, 1999), rarely it is referred to factors influencing the culture beyond the individual classroom (e.g., on the organisational level). Furthermore the concept has not been applied to higher education teaching with only few exceptions (e.g., Levander & Repo-Kaarento; Euler, 2008). Finally, we can state that faculty development courses at universities influence and move teachers towards transformational approaches to teaching. Although conceptions of teaching are relatively stable and resistant to change (Feixas, 2002), Gibbs and Coffey (2004) quote empirical evidence suggesting that initial training courses can have an impact on teachers practices and students learning. However, it cannot be expected that innovative teacher experiences in traditional learning environments will cause a fundamental conceptual change concerning teaching and learning. To support changes in teachers practices, it is needed a change in the wider conditions of the organisational and academic environment. Therefore the results from the Learning Culture Inventory in Higher Education (LCI-HE) give novel and valuable insights for improving the effectiveness of faculty development programmes. References Beyer, J. M. (1997). Organizational Cultures and Faculty. In J. L. Bess (Ed.), Teaching well and liking it: motivating faculty to teach effectively (pp. 145-172). Baltimore, MD: John Hopkins University Press. Collie, S. L. & Taylor, A. L. (2004). Improving Teaching Quality and the Learning Organization. Tertiary Education and Management, 10(2), 139-155. Euler, D. (2008): Learning Cultures at Institutions of Higher Education. On the complex interplay between strategy, structure and culture. Paper presented at 21st Congress of the German Society of Education (DGfE), Dresden, March 16-19. Feixas, M. (2002). Desenvolupament professional del professor universitari com a docent. Doctoral Dissertation, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Friebe, J. (2005). Merkmale unternehmensbezogener Lernkulturen und ihr Einfluss auf die Kompetenzen der Mitarbeiter. Doctoral Dissertation, Ruprechts-Karls-Universität, Heidelberg. Gibbs, G. & Coffey, M. (2001). The impact of training on university teachers’ approaches to teaching and on the way their student learn. Presentation at the 9th European Conference for Research on Learning and Instruction, University of Fribourg, August 28th –September 1st 2001. Hofstede, G. (1998). Attitudes, values and organizational culture: disentangling the concepts. Organization Studies 19 (1998), pp. 477–492. Hodkinson, Ph., Biesta, G. & James, D. (2007). Understanding learning cultures. Educational Review 59(4), 415-427. James, D. (2002): Towards a useful notion of learning culture. British Educational Research Association. Annual Conference, 12-14 September 2002. Levander, L. & Repo-Kaarento, S. (2004). Changing teaching and learning culture in higher education. Towards systemic educational development. Paper presented at the Conference of the International Consortium of Educational Developers (ICED). University of Ottawa. 21-23 June 2004. Trice, H.M. & Beyer, J.M. (1993), The Cultures of Work Organizations. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. Serow, R. C., Van Dyk, P. B., McComb, E. M. & Harrold, A. T. (2002). Cultures of Undergraduate Teaching at Research Universities. Innovative Higher Education, 27(1), 25-37. Weinberg, J. (1999 ). Lernkultur – Begriff, Geschichte, Perspektiven. In A. Qualifikations-Entwicklungs-Management (Ed.), Kompetenzentwicklung 99 (pp. 81-146). Münster: Waxmann. |
| Keywords | Continuing professional development in Teachers Culture and Education Higher education |
| Appendices | |
| Authors | ||||||
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| Name | Surname | Institution | Country | EARLI Number | Presenting | |
| Monica | Feixas | Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona | Spain | monica.feixas@uab.cat | * | |
| Franziska | Zellweger | University of St. Gallen | Switzerland | franziska.zellweger@unisg.ch | ||
