Partnerships in staff development: An institutional case-study

This institutionally-base study aimed to explore the motives of a group of higher education lecturers for seeking staff development, and to identify the characteristics of this proactive group. in semi-structured interviews 11 participants were prompted to discuss their reasons for starting, continuing and achieving closure in collaborative staff development. Analysis of transcripts revealed the lecturers' motivations to include learning how to teach and to involve students in learning, drawing on the support of experts in staff development. Characteristics of effective staff development were perceived to include expertise in higher education teaching and learning, targeted support to individuals, integration in departments, and personal rapport between staff developers and lecturers. The implication of this study, in an institution in which staff development is supported through a central unit, is that a partnership approach involving both the central unit and also departments and faculties is likely to prove particularly fruitful.