Educational development centres: from educational to organisational development?
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/09684880610643584 |
| Date | 01 January 2006 |
| Published date | 01 January 2006 |
| Pages | 7-20 |
| Author | Anton Havnes,Bjørn Stensaker |
| Subject Matter | Education |
Educational development centres:
from educational to
organisational development?
Anton Havnes
Oslo University College, Oslo, Norway, and
Bjørn Stensaker
NIFU STEP, Oslo, Norway
Abstract
Purpose – The paper aims to investigate the role of educational development centres, and their
potential for playing a broader and more central role in quality and organisational development.
Design/methodology/approach – The paper is based on the results of three external evaluations
of educational development centres in Denmark and Norway, combined with a literature review of
studies of educational development centres.
Findings – Educational development centres are in a period of transformation due to external forces
(Bologna, the demand for institutional quality systems, etc.), and this creates new dilemmas and
challenges for educational development.
Originality/value – The paper points to the need to broaden the focus of educational development,
and link it closer to other processes related to quality and organisational development.
Keywords Educational institutions, Quality improvement, Organizationalchange, Quality assurance,
Denmark, Norway
Paper type Case study
Introduction
The interest in establishing educational development centres at the institutional level is
a rather novel innovation in higher education with an emerging number of suc h centres
being established during the 1990s. These units have usually been focusing on
teaching issues, pedagogy, and the more technical dimensions associated with
teaching and learning. As such, the focus of these units has been rather limited, not
addressing quality issues in a broader perspective.
However, from a European perspective there are several developments that suggest
that educational development centres could play a more central role in quality
enhancement processes and in the organisational development of higher education
institutions. Some of the most important factors are:
.The Bologna-process emphasises student and teacher mobility across national
borders. New study structures and new relations between teachers and students
require a stronger focus on how teaching and learning activities are designed,
organised and conducted, and not least, how these activities could be further
improved.
.International and national requirements for institutional quality assurance
systems and routines force institutions to find ways to respond to these external
demands in ways that also pay attention to internal needs.
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
www.emeraldinsight.com/0968-4883.htm
Educational
development
centres
7
Quality Assurance in Education
Vol. 14 No. 1, 2006
pp. 7-20
qEmerald Group Publishing Limited
0968-4883
DOI 10.1108/09684880610643584
To continue reading
Request your trial