An organizational learning perspective on academic development: A strategy for an uncertain future

Abstract

This paper takes as a starting point the interest in organization theory in the idea of ‘learning organizations’ and the practical implications for conceptualizations of academic development. In doing so, it analyses epistemological and methodological complexities associated with the concept of academic development from a perspective that focuses on organizational learning. The contention of the paper is that an appropriate theoretical basis for academic development in the current times is provided by a broad organizational learning perspective. It is argued that an organizational learning methodology for the practice of academic development has the potential to provide powerful learning and feedback structures well‐suited to institutional inquiry and adaptation that will assist universities to meet the turbulence and challenges of an unpredictable future. A vignette from The University of Melbourne describes a prototype for such a methodology.