Discourses of peer observation in higher education: Event or system?

ABSTRACT

This paper offers a new perspective on exploring peer observation (PO) as an event or system, and contributes to the discussion on what happens after the PO cycle in terms of opportunities for dissemination. Data were gathered from semi-structured interviews with members of academic staff in a UK higher education institution about their managerial roles in the PO scheme. An analysis of the interview transcripts revealed a dominant regulative discourse around PO as an event with corresponding instructional discourse focused on the procedures and administration of the scheme. We argue that middle managers are in a unique position to determine how PO can be shared in the learning and teaching community. This requires a considerable shift in the prevailing discourse around the purposes and potential of PO as part of a wider professional development system and we make suggestions for how this might be promoted.

KEYWORDS:

• Peer observation
• regulative discourse
• instructional discourse
• professional development
• system

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Marion Heron

Marion Heron has been teaching in higher education for over 30 years. She has worked in higher education institutions in Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and the UK. She currently works with lecturers from all disciplines in her role as academic developer at the University of Surrey. Her research interests include classroom talk, classroom interaction and oracy practices in higher education seminars.

Rebecca Head

Rebecca Head is a qualified nurse and teacher who has spent the last 15 years working in secondary education, where she specialised in the health and wellbeing of young people. As a teacher she is particularly interested in the scholarship of learning and teaching and the impact that this can have on students. Rebecca worked as part of the Department of Higher Education for two and half years as a teaching fellow and is now works within special needs education.