Abstract:

This multi-case study was conducted in the context of the Irish Technological Higher Education sector. The study occurred at a time of transformation in Irish Higher Education, as institutes of technology were merging into Technological Universities. In addition, Covid 19 occurred during the latter stages of the study.

Underpinned by Social Practice Theory (SPT) and using Teaching and Learning Regime (TLR) theory, this study investigated the pedagogic practices of teaching staff across four institutes of higher education. The study involved teaching staff who, prior to the study, had undertaken an accredited professional development programme. The programme was designed to be flexible, suit any career stage and meet the current professional development needs of staff working to teach or support students in the technological sector. However, instead of adopting a narrow focus which evaluates the effect of an accredited programme using a practice perspective, this study explored broader questions about pedagogic practices, the material environment in which they occur and the contextual factors which condition their enactment. The ontological perspective of Critical Realism (CR) informed the design of a theory-driven methodological approach to research design and analysis of data. A process for the systematic mapping of data to the TLR theoretical framework was devised.

The study involved four geographically dispersed Institutes of Technology (IoTs) and spanned a four-year period. Participants were required to have taught for one year after completion of the programme. Therefore, purposive sampling of twenty-eight potential participants was undertaken. Research methods, informed by the SPT elements of materials, meanings and competences, included semi-structured interviews, focus group interviews and observations of teaching. In addition, participants were invited to submit digital artefacts to represent teaching. Nineteen participants took part in one or all data collection methods.

The study has the potential to inform change initiatives at the micro-, meso- and macro levels in the technological sector and beyond. There was evidence of early career practices which were transmission focused, in addition to a shift to contemporary pedagogic practices. Factors which condition change, both scaffolders and restrictors, were identified. Examples emerged of participants developing a practice sensibility when acting as change agents within their workgroup. The study provides new perspectives on the situated pedagogic practices of teachers in higher education, with implications for the design and evaluation of professional development. The Teaching and Learning Regime emerged as a comprehensive theoretical framework for understanding, explaining, and planning change in higher education.

Keywords:

Pedagogic practices, Social Practice Theory, Teaching and Learning Regimes, change management in Higher Education, practice sensibility.