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What are universities across Europe doing to make sure that their academic staff are the best possible teachers? And what can we learn from each other?
As part of the ‘Staff development for learning and teaching at European universities’ (STAFF-DEV) project, we have mapped and analysed how staff development for learning and teaching is embedded in national and Europe wide-strategies for higher education, as well as how this is implemented in institutions across the continent.
A series of STAFF-DEV focus groups between October and November 2024 were particularly informative. From these discussions, four key lessons emerged for universities that want to better support their pedagogical teams.
First of all, the systemic integration of incentives for engaging in staff development is key. During our focus groups, participants told us that they are implementing a range of incentives to encourage engagement. Importantly, they also told us about how the staff development activities that they offer align with their institutions’ strategies.
Yet, participants also spoke of tensions within the institutionalisation of staff development. For example, what is the right balance between voluntary and mandatory staff development? How can universities make sure that they are responding to staff needs, rather than just aligning with standards? And how do we make sure that the demands placed on those responsible for providing staff development activities – who may already have significant teaching, research and administrative responsibilities – remain reasonable?
Universities need to understand the barriers to engagement in staff development.
While time constraints are often cited by staff members, it is far from the only barrier. If development activities are not prioritised by the institution, this can become a barrier in itself, and effectively disincentivise engagement. To avoid this problem, managers within faculties or departments can endeavour to make time for training available to staff.
Another prominent barrier is the instability of institutional and national support for learning and teaching. Indeed, focus group participants noted that there is often pressure to tailor staff development initiatives to short-term funding or project requirements, which may have the effect of undermining quality.
Engagement in staff development for learning and teaching can be driven by the need to ‘tick a box’ in order to progress in one’s career. This attitude towards staff development can be further entrenched through institutional incentivisation via promotional criteria.
On the other hand, universities can turn this into an opportunity. Even if a staff member first engages with a short-term objective in mind, with the right support it can become the first step in a long-term engagement in their professional development. For example, newcomers often discover alternative offerings and create their own networks within learning and teaching. Importantly, those that end up engaging the most can act as ambassadors for the university’s staff development offer among their peers and across the campus community.
Staff development in learning and teaching should focus on developing skills, but also relationships and connections.
Staff development allows staff to develop relevant skills and understandings that in turn enhance the practice of learning and teaching. Yet during our STAFF-DEV focus group, participants also spoke of the importance of staff development as somewhere to connect and cultivate collaboration. Indeed, to foster lasting impact, it is vital that related activities act to foster relationships between peers and encourage collaboration, allowing those involved to find their own communities of practice.
Note: The STAFF-DEV project is funded by the European Union’s Erasmus+ programme and implemented by the European University Association (project coordinator), University College Cork, the University of Oslo, Utrecht University and Ruhr University Bochum.
