Dr Ian Sadler, York St John University

Abstract

The aim of the current investigation was to provide an insight into how new lecturers in higher education develop as teachers and to identify some of the main influences upon this development.  A qualitative, longitudinal design with three semi-structured interviews over a two-year period was employed with eleven new teachers from a range of higher education institutions.  The analysis used case studies, alongside a thematic analysis, to provide fine-grained insights into the teachers' development.  Despite having taught for less than two years, several of the teachers described relatively 'sophisticated', student-centred conceptions of teaching.  The teachers who described teaching in this way were often those who were most unresolved about their practice and experimented with a variety of strategies in order to support the students learning.  These findings help to reveal the complexities of teacher development and provide support to academic developers in understanding the real challenges that new teachers encounter.