Education development centres must change with the times

“Education development centres are experiencing an identity crisis, write Claire Gordon and Sam Smidt . Based on their collective experience of 25 years in leadership positions at UK universities, they advocate for an educational development model that balances service with scholarship Emerging in the 1960s, education development centres (EDCs) have evolved and expanded significantly with most UK universities now housing units dedicated to the enhancement of teaching and learning. Despite operational differences, successful EDCs share a common foundation: expertise grounded in research or engagement in the scholarship of teaching and learning, along with strong collaborative partnerships with both academic and professional staff across the university community. They are a vital bridge between the academic community and the university’s strategic priorities, especially as universities battle increasing tuition fees, the challenges posed by GenAI, and declining mental health among students. Conflicted status Yet, in many EDCs, there is a prevailing identity crisis. This arises out of a perceived tension between two related but distinct missions: deploying academic expertise and educational insight to improve education within the institution and the more traditional academic function of research and scholarship into learning, teaching, and assessment. If EDCs become too scholarly, the institution begins to ask: “What is it doing to improve teaching and learning?” But if the EDC focuses on supporting practice, it will also typically be asked to investigate the issues of the day, to ensure EDC guidance is informed by up-to-date research. Moreover, many academics remain sceptical that educational development is a distinct academic domain. Instead, they often view EDCs as part of the administrative apparatus or a mere provider of classroom tips. These dynamics are exacerbated by entrenched hierarchies that privilege traditional academic roles over those of professional staff regardless of qualifications or impact. Hence, some educational developers, who are often on professional services contracts, may react defensively when their academic credentials or expertise are questioned, creating further barriers to productive collaboration with academics. Educational developers themselves may reject the characterisation of their work as service and be resistant to engaging in certain kinds of service work. Some are concerned about being viewed as agents of managerialism rather than educational partners, and notions of service to the university may also come into conflict with perceived rights to academic freedom . Educational developers’ institutional status is further undermined by the difficulty of measuring the impact of the work of EDCs. When an educational development initiative succeeds, the visible outcomes may be improved student experience, enhanced teaching quality, or curricular innovation. But these achievements are often credited to academic departments, without recognising the contribution of the educational developer partner. The work of EDCs is about facilitating cultural change, which by its very nature is slow, often imperceptible and non-linear. Perceptions that EDCs fail to deliver benefit may also in part stem from misaligned expectations. Universities may be looking for rapid, quantifiable improvements while underestimating the time required to make meaningful pedagogical change. Fundamentally, the work of EDCs is about facilitating cultural change, which by its very nature is slow, often imperceptible and non-linear. Redefining EDCs So how can EDCs put themselves in a better institutional position to support the educational offer of universities in this period of huge uncertainty and precarity? The answer begins with rethinking the notion of EDCs as service units. Educational developers must shed the negative connotations associated with service, with a reframing that recognises the expertise needed for educational development work and the value of working in partnership. EDCs need to cross traditional boundaries, using their whole-institution perspective and evidence-based expertise to bring different parts of the university together as partners for improvement. They also need to add value in the design and implementation of education strategy, enabling the institution to make progress against its strategic priorities and regulatory obligations. This requires trust and open communication between the EDC, the senior leadership and the key stakeholders in the academic community. The senior leadership needs to know that the EDC has the expertise, or can convene the expertise, to deliver against their agenda in a way that is appropriate to different institutional and disciplinary cultures. Specifically, we propose a four-level service model for EDC activities (see box above). Engagement within and across levels would depend on the support, resourcing, and level of maturity of individual institutions. There is an academic citizenship argument to be made for larger and well-funded universities working with smaller, less well-resourced institutions. Four-level service model for EDCs Level 1- Faculty development: EDCs lead on the design and delivery of teaching qualifications for staff such as the Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education and Advance HE-accredited fellowship programmes. Level 2 – Enhancing curricula: EDCs work in partnership with colleagues in academic departments and professional teams to lead on programme-level learning as opposed to self-contained modules to avoid overlaps, gaps, and inconsistencies. Level 3 – Building education leadership: EDCs convene networks of education leaders at different levels across the institution to discuss strategic, operational, and regulatory issues, facilitating practice exchange, collaboration, and mentoring education-focussed academics. Level 4 – Contributing to sectoral developments: EDCs raise the profile of their institutions and galvanise responses to sectoral challenges by facilitating dialogue and thought leadership among national and international networks of educators and experts. Changing perceptions In short, EDCs need to serve as bridges between the senior leadership and the academic community in order to implement institutional strategy. For that to be effective, they need trust and convening power. Building that trust will depend on changing institutional perceptions about the value of EDCs. Demonstrating value in constrained times will mean letting go of some scholarly and personal passions to focus on the priorities of the university It will also depend on educational developers revisiting their own understanding about being in a service role. Demonstrating value in constrained times will mean letting go of some scholarly and personal passions to focus on the priorities of the university. It will also mean closer partnership with other central service teams to deliver the most relevant expertise in line with institutional and faculty priorities to academic teams in a seamless way. A successful reset of the place and identity of EDCs also requires reciprocity including credible commitment from university senior leadership. They need to foreground the expertise of their EDC and the valuable contribution they can make to the development of education at individual, department, faculty, and institutional levels. With this active validation, EDCs may finally be able to achieve the existential stability they have long sought in the academy. Main image: University of Stirling Archives on Wikimedia Commons • A version of this post originally appeared in the Times Higher Education Supplement on 17 July 2025 as Can educational developers resolve their identity crisis? This post is opinion-based and does not reflect the views of the London School of Economics and Political Science or any of its constituent departments and divisions. The post Education development centres must change with the times first appeared on LSE Higher Education .

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