Academics’ perspectives on good teaching practice in Switzerland's higher education landscape

Abstract

Describing good teaching practice in higher education is a perennial challenge in educational research. This is to some extent influenced by the lack of consensus among academics themselves. The purpose of this research project was to investigate the range and diversity of perceptions about good teaching practice within the Swiss higher education sector. Q methodological data was collected from 26 current participants of a professional development program towards a certificate of advanced studies in higher education and Q factor analysis revealed two different perspectives. Each of these factors was preliminarily interpreted by participants significantly loading on them. Not only adds this participatory design to the credibility and validity of factor descriptions, but the process promoted a deep and reflective engagement with methods and instructional practices in higher education.

Keywords

• Participatory research
• Higher education
• Switzerland
• Q methodology
• Good teaching
• Educational development