Fostering the quality of teaching and learning by developing the “neglected half” of university teachers’ competencies

Abstract

For too long, the quality of teaching and learning in universities has been undervalued in comparison to research. Current social, economic, ecological and other challenges require that more attention be given to measures to improve the situation. Academic staff should receive incentives, policy support and high-quality pedagogical training to develop key competencies for excellence in teaching. Examples of key competencies in this area in different countries are presented as well as some schemes of policy support and pedagogical training. The case study from the University of Ljubljana is based on experiences gathered from four groups of participants during a course on Improving University Teaching in 2013 and 2014. They gave their opinion on the relative importance of different competencies in teaching, to what extent have they developed them during the course and, finally, which activities and methods used have most contributed to their development. At the end, some measures to foster excellence in teaching at the level of policy are proposed, as well as areas for further research.