Perceptions of Professional Development and Practice for Academics

ISBN-13: 9783639132588 / Angielski / Miękka / 2009 / 240 str.

Gordon Weller

Opis

There are alternative, practitioner led approaches to professional development, which can be analysed to form a new approach, more relevant to practitioners in todays HE environment. This book focuses on the practice of academics, and analyses common strands that illustrate new approaches to professional development. Three major themes have emerged from the research; first, academic isolationism, which is considered in terms of benefits as a survival strategy and possible social deficits. Secondly, individualism and compliance is discussed in terms of the level of autonomy academics have in managing their development, and thirdly, the community of professionals is analysed as a development process. This book will benefit those HE practitioners who continue their development in a pressured work environment, HE managers who want to foster a professional development culture, and HE policy makers who wish to address these issues. The findings will also be of benefit to HE institutions and other organisations to consider a holistic view of staff who might better be viewed as teacher professional developers or meta-professionals.

O autorze

Gordon Weller has worked in higher education for nearly two
decades and has seen many changes towards a market led sector.
He has taught Human Resource Management and Organisation
Behaviour. He was involved in many of the early initiatives to
introduce Work Based Learning into the higher edication
curriculum.