An Association for Academic Developers?
Project Complete on the 1 May 2018An Australian association for academic developers: Concept testing
2018 Australasian Academic Development Good Practice Award, Finalists’ Nominations
Application:
The practice problem
The proposed project would provide an initial organised opportunity for networking and professional development of Australian Academic Developers (ADs), and scope out potential for an ongoing network to facilitate these activities.
The significance of the problem
Australia has no organisation of ADs, such as operates to support developers in the UK or North America. Professional development of ADs in Australia depends primarily on the initiative and effort of individual Developers, who must seek out and create their own professional development opportunities and networks. As a consequence, professional development experiences are varied and sometimes piecemeal. Importantly, because they are individually constructed, they are not bench-marked, and nor are they usually designed to meet objective professional standards.
What the literature and/or experience tell us about the problem
Australia has no dedicated body representing the interests of ADs1 in higher education. There are, of course, related bodies; however, it is argued that none of these quite meet the demand for professional development and networking opportunities for ADs.
Internationally, other organisations exist. Of note is the UK’s Staff and Educational Development Association, SEDA, an organisation specifically focused on academic development, as opposed to the broader remit of organisations like HERDSA. SEDA claims to be “the shaper of thought and initiator of action in staff and educational development, not only in the UK but in the international domain also.” (SEDA, 2018). Most importantly, recent research supported by CADAD showed a very high degree of interest (95%) among ADs in a “nationally run formal professional learning program” (Hill, 2016). A pre-conference workshop for new ADs was facilitated at the 2016 HERDSA conference following this research.
Questions arise as to how ‘formal’ such professional development should be, and for whom it should be offered. Formal postgraduate courses, as outlined by Skead (2018), are a potential model for professional development for ADs. However, both Skead’s postgraduate course and such pre-conference workshops have focused on development for new or emerging ADs. Where, then, do seasoned ADs deepen their expertise and be recognised for their achievements? Informal personal professional networks and contact with peers has primarily been the case in the past. Internationally, SEDA offers a formal fellowship development and recognition scheme for academic developers (Bostock & Baume, 2016). Do Australian ADs as a community want to commit to an international provider, align themselves to it, or go it alone? What form might professional development, networking and recognition take? This project seeks to address these questions and propose a model.