Agency and context in educational development

• Main Author: Land, Ray
• Published: Lancaster University 1999
• Subjects: 370; Higher
• Online Access: http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.322840

This study examines the practice of educational developers as a professional, or sub-professional group working in UK higher education. It examines the historical moment and convergent pressures on the higher education system out of which educational development arose in the period from the mid 1960s until the present. (Chapter 1). From a perspective of 'agent context analysis' it considers the 'strategic terrain', in terms of the organisational cultures and structures of higher education, in which educational developers practise and against which they adapt their strategic stance (Chapter 3). The substantial centrepiece of this study is the development of a set of 12 analytic categories of practice or 'orientations' to educational development which were derived from a qualitative analysis of a series of 32 interviews undertaken in a broad range of institutions of higher education across the United Kingdom. These orientations were then mapped against prevailing organisational cultures, identification of stakeholder groups and particular bodies of procedural knowledge to create a model of educational development practice. (Chapter 4). This model is further expanded to map these orientations against the perceived notions of organisational change held by developers (Chapter 5), as involvement in change processes is a commonly agreed attribute of this professional group. The thesis contains a methodological chapter (Chapter 2) and further methodological perspectives in the Appendices. The study demonstrates the complexity and heterogeneity of educational development practice and the somewhat fractured nature of the professional group. It highlights the emerging prevalence of discipline-based educational development and recommends further educational development research 10 this area.