Leading Pedagogical Change

Abstract

According to Keller (2008), changes in many things including technology “constitutes [sic] the most consequential set of changes in society since the late nineteenth century, when the nation went from a largely domestic, rural, agrarian mode of living to an industrial, international, and urban economy” (Preface xi). Consequently, for higher education, “this set of circumstances is going to force all academic enterprises to rethink their place and purpose not just in philosophical terms but in very pragmatic ways as well.” (Beaudoin, 2003, p. 520). As education is changing, so, too, are our notions about leadership. How will we take strides to make things happen in education – who takes the lead, doing what? Leadership in academia is often different from leadership in other contexts. As Ramsden (1998) says like good teaching academic leadership is not telling or transmitting information and ideas; it is a sort of conversation aimed at helping people to change and develop. Gibbs, Knapper & Picinn (2007), confirm that leadership plays an important role in creating teaching excellence.

Administrators, teaching development staff, leaders and faculty in higher education are invited to review a comparative case study of current pedagogical changes in select Canadian universities, in comparison to the transformation underway at The Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) in Sweden. Their development plan states that KTH will house a virtual campus as effective and prestigious as its place-based campus by 2027. KTH’s strategic plan and leadership functions will be described in reference to similar and disparate Canadian examples.