Continual professional development for science lecturers: using professional capital to explore lessons for academic development

Abstract

Personal observations suggest that science lecturers in higher education do not always feel comfortable engaging with the support offered through academic development initiatives. At a research-intensive university in the UK, research was conducted using a mixed-methods approach to establish how science lecturers engaged with continual professional development (CPD) activity. A total of 64 science lecturers completed 28-item surveys about their current experience, context, teaching preferences, and the practices that have supported their CPD as teachers. Surveys were analysed through a statistical package, and descriptive analysis responses were modelled for interest in CPD activity. Dependent model variables included: pedagogical training, teaching receiving greater weighting, and experimentation. Follow-up interviews were carried out with 10 survey respondents with analysis centring on developing a better understanding of CPD engagement. Professional capital was used as a theoretical lens to discuss the research findings which suggest future directions for academic developers and institutions in supporting CPD activity among science lecturers. These include academic developers acting as mentors and offering practical tips to these lecturers. Additionally, academic developers can act as weak ties in fostering institutionally important social networks and foster important collaborative research opportunities. Institutionally, promotion and recognition are key incentives to engage with CPD activity.