In partnership with heads of department for sustainable educational development

ABSTRACT

University teachers funded to engage in educational development projects have been found to become increasingly engaged in the scholarship of teaching and learning. However, research also points to obstacles such as departmental culture, lack of support from management, and unhelpful administrative processes. In this study, I interview university teachers and their heads of departments in an educational development grants scheme, to explore dimensions of sustainable educational development. The results show how the sustainability of projects is influenced by the way heads of departments work in partnership with university teachers in relation to local educational cultures, engagement of peers, and legitimacy.

KEYWORDS:

• Local educational cultures
• educational development
• teaching and learning grants
• head of department
• pedagogical ambassador

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Klara Bolander Laksov

Klara Bolander Laksov is Director of the Centre for the Advancement of University Teaching, Stockholm University, Sweden. She has worked as educational developer since 2001 and was during 2007–2011 the chair of the Swedish network for Educational development, Swednet. Her research interest is in issues of leadership and change in higher education institutions, specifically with an emphasis on scholarship of teaching and learning.