Exploring the epistemological and practical experiences of Arts practitioners engaging with an Educational Development programme

Abstract

The aim of the project was to develop an understanding of the epistemological and practical experiences of Arts practitioners when engaging with an ED programme. Specifically the aims were threefold: • To explore the experiences of Arts practitioners engaging with an ED programme • To assess links between pedagogies and practices in ED and Arts disciplines • To provide recommendations for further development of ED programmes in ED and Arts disciplines

Background/context to project: The rationale for this research was derived from recognition that Educational Development (ED) programmes are tasked with developing academics from all disciplines, which poses challenges for in–house expertise given the diversity of disciplines and associated pedagogies in Higher Education. More broadly, there was recognition of the value of Arts as a vehicle for formal, informal and interdisciplinary learning (Seagraves et al. 2008) which is increasingly important in the modern university. Thus, having clear and mutually beneficial links between ED and Arts was considered to have the potential to promote and nurture pedagogic possibilities that are presently under explored. This project therefore sought to investigate the epistemological and practical experiences that Arts practitioners have when engaging with an ED programme, in the hope of developing links and understanding about pedagogies and practices in both ED and the Arts.