Valuing Teaching: A Strategy For Changing the Organisational Culture of an Academic Department

Although government funding initiatives can provide an immediate incentive for the development of good teaching practices, ongoing and widespread improvement in the quality of teaching and learning is likely to occur only when the organisational culture of academic departments is such that good teaching is held in those departments to be a fundamental and shared value rather than primarily an individual responsibility. This paper describes the organisational development strategies used within one large academic department to bring about a reassessment of the role and practice of teaching and support the subsequent implementation of teaching‐related reforms. It examines the role of leadership, devolved responsibility and consultation in effecting change in both the practice of teaching and the organisational culture of a department.