Developing Academics: The essential higher education handbook

Academics work in a highly complex world where they are expected to operate effectively as teachers, researchers and leaders, and the skills they bring to their roles require ongoing development across a broad range of capabilities. "Developing Academics" establishes a clear set of guiding principles, learning theories and specific strategies to assist those responsible for supporting higher education and faculty development."

Developing Academics" explores how academics become expert, excellent performers, well positioned for career success. Discussing answers to questions such as:

• What can I do to transform my university?
• What are the essential characteristics of an outstanding developer?
• Are our academics really equipped to meet the demands of their current and future roles?
• What can leaders do to support high performing academics who wish to excel?

Forming the first work to explore the complex nature of academic capacity building and to recognise the different roles that developers and leaders play in encouraging academic learning, this book is divided into five parts. The first part provides a detailed exploration of academic work, and the ways in which individuals progress from novice to expert levels. In the second a comprehensive overview of the range of practices that support academic learning are offered up. The third part provides comprehensive guidance to higher education developers, offering a theoretical grounding, methodologies and intensive insights into advanced professional techniques. An exploration into the role of leaders in building academic capacity across their communities or the university as a whole, offering guidance on how to create the right environment for productive and high performing academics to excel in explored in the forth part. Finally, the future for higher education development is mapped, illustrating the need to future proof the field by moving it toward disciplinary status and increasing its influence across the university community.

Readers are challenged to reflect on their own leadership and effectiveness by extending traditional approaches. This book provides guidance on working as a facilitator, consultant and expert source to university leaders, who will all find this handbook to be an essential resource for regular reference: full of useful insights, tips and strategies to help them make a difference