The session will be chaired by Professor Ian Kinchin, facilitated by Dr Anesa Hosein, Dr Josephine Lang and Dr Namrata Rao.

Whilst the path traversed by those seeking research leadership within higher education are well-defined and recognised, the journey to leadership in learning and teaching (L&T) is often not widely discussed and/or recognised. Much of the literature around leadership in academia focuses on those who have accessed leadership positions owing to their research excellence (see for e.g. Bryman, 2007; Dopson et al.,2016) and less so owing to their learning and teaching leadership (Hofmeyer et al. 2015; Shaked, 2021). This might be owing to the position learning and teaching occupies in comparison to research (see for e.g. Chen, 2015). Therefore, the indicators of what might count as L&T leadership and how might individuals get to these places of leadership are often ill defined. In this event, the Learning, Teaching and Assessment Network will draw on perspectives from learning and teaching leaders from across the globe to:

1. Contribute to our collective understanding of the diverse forms of learning and teaching leadership which currently exists within Higher Education

2. Explore the particular motivations and challenges faced and opportunities available to those seeking to establish themselves as L&T leaders within academia.

PROGRAMME

The session builds on the work undertaken for series of three books on leadership in learning and teaching published by Bloomsbury and Routledge:

• Lang, J., Rao, N. and Hosein, A. (2023) Perspectives on Learning and Teaching Leadership in Higher Education. London: Routledge ISBN 9781032418421
• Rao, N., Hosein, A. and Kinchin, I. (2023) Narratives of Academics’ Personal Journeys in Contested Spaces: Leadership Identity in Learning and Teaching in Higher Education. London: Bloomsbury  ISBN: 9781350196964
• Hosein, A., Rao, N., and Kinchin, I. (2022) Narratives of Becoming Leaders in Disciplinary and Institutional Contexts: Leadership Identity in Learning and Teaching in Higher Education. London: Bloomsbury ISBN 9781350182639

Speaker Details

Anesa Hosein is an Associate Professor and the Head of Educational Development and Research at the University of Surrey’s Institute of Education, UK. Anesa is interested in how marginalized identities affect higher education participation both for students and academics. Her current research revolves around investigating migrant academics as well as student mental health.

Dr Sandra Jones is Professor Emerita at RMIT University, Australia, and Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, UK, now Advance HE. Sandra has over 30 years of experience in higher education, as an academic, academic leader and researcher in learning and teaching at all levels of the university. She has been a leading innovator in learning and teaching design and delivery and is internationally acknowledged for her research into a distributed leadership approach for higher education.

Andrew Kelly is Manager, Learning Support at Edith Cowan University, Australia. In previous positions, he held teaching roles at Charles Darwin University, Australia, and Western Sydney University, Australia, both of which focused on developing academic literacy skills for first-year university students. He has also published papers in several journals related to teaching and learning, including the Journal of Academic Language and Learning, the International Journal of Online Pedagogy and Course Design and the Journal for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education. His current research interests focus on academic integrity and supporting diverse cohorts in transitioning into tertiary studies.

Ian M. Kinchin is an Emeritus Professor of Higher Education in Surrey Institute of Education at the University of Surrey, UK, where he is engaged in the professional development of university teachers. Ian has published research in the fields of zoology, science education and academic development. He has a PhD in science education and a DLitt in Higher Education.

Laurie McCarty is an experienced faculty member, educational developer, and higher education administrator. Her research interests include bilingual special education, change leadership, educational development, and reflective practice. In her faculty and leadership roles, she has engaged in efforts to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion while supporting faculty in all aspects of their professional growth. Laurie is currently the Executive Director of Faculty Development in the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning at the University of Connecticut in the United States.

Josephine Lang is Associate Professor and Academic Director of Educational Innovation in Melbourne School of Professional and Continuing Education at the University of Melbourne, Australia. In this role, she leads and works with the university’s faculties to facilitate the development of their Continuing Professional Education portfolio of courses. Her research expertise is in the areas of professional learning, curriculum, pedagogy and assessment. She is now focusing on bringing all this expertise to bear to lead, research and apply to the emerging field of digital micro-credentials; this includes engaging key stakeholders within the micro-credential and skills ecosystems to deliver quality digital micro-credentials for lifelong learning. Josephine has held numerous academic leadership roles in teaching and learning at subject and programme levels in the sectors of university and schools. She has led collaborative partnerships of teaching and learning-related initiatives across multiple Australian universities.

Celia Popovic is Associate Professor in the Faculty of Education at York University, UK. She was the founding Director of the Teaching Commons at York and is now engaged in teaching undergraduate and graduate courses in post-secondary education and researching in the field. The author, editor or co-editor of five books, numerous chapters and articles in peer-reviewed journals, she is both a scholar and a teacher. In 2018 she was inducted into the Staff and Educational Development Association Roll of Honour; in 2019 she was awarded the Educational Developers’ Caucus Distinguished Educational Developer Award; and in 2021 she was recognized as a York University Research Leader.

Professor Susannah Quinsee is Vice-President (Digital and Student Experience) at City, University of London. As Vice-President she leads on institutional projects and strategy to support education and students, with a particular focus on digital transformation. She became a National Teaching Fellow (2011), is a SEDA Senior Fellow and AdvanceHE HEA Principal Fellow. In 2017, she was appointed as a Learning and Teaching Excellence Ambassador by Advance HE to promote educational development. She is a Lego Serious Play practitioner and is undertaking research on playful leadership. Susannah attempts to blog on a regular basis (www.sqhq.co.uk), particularly if it is about Lego and rekindling her love of women’s poetry, which she studied for her PhD.  Susannah has four children, including twins and is passionate about inclusivity and wellbeing in higher education. Susannah is continually reflecting on how to achieve a "happy" balance between her professional and personal activities.

Namrata Rao is a Principal lecturer in Education at Liverpool Hope University, UK, where she coordinates the School of Education’s postgraduate taught programmes. Her key areas of research and publication include (but are not restricted to) various aspects of learning and teaching in higher education that influence academic identity and academic practice. She is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, co-convener of the Learning, Teaching and Assessment Network of the Society for Research in Higher Education, and member of the Research and Development group of the Association for Learning Development in Higher Education. Her recent publications include co-edited books on Leadership in Learning and Teaching, experiences of Early Career Teachers in Higher Education and experiences of International Academics, all published by Bloomsbury.

Paulo Rogério Miranda Correia is Associate Professor in Didactics at the University of São Paulo (USP), Brazil, and teaches and researches within the School of Arts, Science and Humanities. He has been involved in researching the application of concept maps to teaching and learning since 2005. His current research considers ways to optimize the use of concept maps in understanding human cognitive architecture and changes in knowledge structures. Paulo was the chairman of the Sixth International Conference on Concept Mapping (CMC2014), organized by USP and the Institute for Human & Machine Cognition. In 2019, he led the USP and Coursera partnership to launch the first MOOC dedicated to developing novices’ skills of learning and collaborating using concept maps.