Contemporary induction to teaching in Australian universities

ABSTRACT

Australia has 42 universities. In 2015/16, 30 of 40 universities reviewed provided one or more days of teaching induction for their staff, while 10 did not. Twenty-six of the 30 teaching induction program directors were surveyed and 24 of those were interviewed to provide a snapshot of professional development for new teaching staff in Australian universities. The key findings of that research showed that almost two thirds of universities did not pay sessional staff to attend a teaching induction program; just over half the programs included peer observation of teaching; only one in five programs offered mentoring opportunities; three quarters of programs included assessment; and approximately a third of programs provided credit towards an award course. We conclude that all universities need to provide new teaching staff with a longer teaching induction program, which will support them to develop student-centred, scholarly behaviours and attitudes.

KEYWORDS:

• Learning and teaching concepts
• theories and strategies
• new academics/faculty
• teaching induction
• teaching professional development

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Professor Natalie Brown (University of Tasmania), Ms Tracy Frayne (University of Western Australia), Associate Professor Kogi Naidoo (Charles Sturt University), and Professor Beatrice Tucker (Curtin University), for the work that they did in interviewing program directors for this study.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Kym Fraser

Kym Fraser is Adjunct Associate Professor at Swinburne University of Technology, Learning Transformations, Melbourne, Australia.

Yoni Ryan

Yoni Ryan is Adjunct Professor in Higher Education at the Queensland University of Technology, Australia.

Susan Bolt

Susan Bolt is Head of Academic Development at the University of Liverpool, United Kingdom.

Peter Copeman

Peter Copeman is Senior Teaching Fellow in the Teaching and Learning Directorate at the University of Canberra, Australia.

Caroline Cottman

Caroline Cottman is a Senior Academic Developer in the Centre for Support and Advancement of Learning and Teaching, University of the Sunshine Coast, Australia.

Marie B. Fisher

Marie B. Fisher is a Senior Leadership academic at the Australian Catholic University, Canberra, Australia

Julie Fleming

Julie Fleming is the Associate Dean Scholarship and Technology at Central Queensland University, Australia.

Ann Luzeckyj

Ann Luzeckyj is a Senior Lecturer in Higher Education the Centre for Innovation in Learning and Teaching, Flinders University, Australia.