The impact of university teachers’ training: Methodological issues and proposals for future research

Abstract

This article presents an overview of four empirical research studies dealing with the lack of systematic evaluation of teacher training in higher education. The core question is: “What is the impact of university teachers’ training?” Three of the studies examined the impact of training on teachers’ approach to teaching, students’ perceptions of teachers’ teaching behaviour, students’ approach to study, and students’ learning outcomes. The fourth study explored the long-term individual impact in terms of teachers’ conceptions of teaching and teaching behaviour, as well as some aspects of institutional impact. On the basis of a critical evaluation of the results, as well as the methodological design of the studies, the following pathways for further research are suggested: conditions encouraging impact, triangulation of data, long-term impact and institutional impact.

Keywords

• higher education
• faculty development
• evaluation
• impact