Faculty development for educational leadership

Abstract

At most research-intensive universities, academic careers are largely driven and determined by success in the domain of research, and most faculty members in leadership positions at these universities typically have a strong track record in research (Goodall 2006; Goodall et al. 2014; Spendlove 2007). However, more and more these universities recognize that academic leadership not only needs to be provided in research but also in education (e.g. ‘LERU Mission’ 2016). This requires specific expertise, which still needs to be developed in many research-intensive universities. For this reason, universities committed to the enhancement of teaching and learning offer professional development aimed at developing expertise in educational leadership. This chapter describes five examples of dedicated faculty development trajectories for educational leadership in research-intensive universities, focusing on their nature and effects. We first discuss the concept of ‘educational leadership’ as an important component of academic leadership in research-intensive environments. We will then portray and compare professional development trajectories for educational leadership in five research-intensive universities: the universities of Edinburgh, Lund, Oslo, Copenhagen, and Utrecht. The final sections summarize and discuss the main characteristics and the perceived gains and challenges of the educational leadership trajectories in these five universities.