Ebook: Teacher Thinking, Beliefs and Knowledge in Higher Education

Research on teacher thinking, beliefs and knowledge in higher education Increasingly serious attention is being paid to the quality of learning and teaching in higher education. This is a global concern, associated with calls for greater accountability and efficiency, increases in the size and diversity of the student population and a relative decline in the real value of funds available for higher education. Teaching in higher education is having to become more professional. Agencies are being set up in a number of countries, charged with supporting and/or accrediting the development of teaching competences. (See, for example, the work of the Institute for Learning and Teaching in Higher Education in the United Kingdom. ) Faculty are paying greater attention to their teaching and to finding ways of improving the effectiveness and efficiency of the support they provide to students. Universities are shifting budgets towards the improvement of learning and teaching and are strengthening the roles of faculty developers. There is a growing stream of practical books, aimed at guiding both new and experienced university teachers (e. g. Beard & Hartley, 1987; Biggs, 1999; Brown & Atkins, 1988; Brown, Bull & Pendlebury, 1997; Brown & Knight, 1994; Gibbs & Jenkins, 1992; Hativa, 2000; Laurillard, 1993; McKeachie, 1999; Prosser & Trigwell, 1999; Race & Brown, 1993; Ramsden, 1992). These shifts are creating a demand for a better research-based understanding of the nature of teaching in higher education.

This book brings together an international team of leading researchers in the field of higher education to address the important problem of understanding good university teaching. It focuses on the thinking, beliefs, and knowledge, which accompany teachers' actions. It draws on research from North America, Europe, Australia, and South East Asia to identify similarities and differences in teachers' conceptions of, and approaches to, teaching and learning. The book combines these perspectives with related research on the evaluation of teaching and on teacher reflection and improvement - all set within the increasingly important and complex domain of higher education. Teacher Thinking, Beliefs and Knowledge in Higher Education is the first book to address this area and it promises to become a landmark volume in the field - helping us to understand a complex area of human activity and improve both teaching and learning.

The intended readers for this book are education researchers, including PhD students researching aspects of higher education, staff/faculty developers and educational developers.