This paper argues that given the complexities and contested nature of contemporary higher education, induction programmes for new academics should move beyond generic approaches to teaching and learning and engage academics in considering the contexts in which they are practising, focusing on developing their agency in these complex contexts. A sociocultural approach that explicitly engages new academics in reflecting on the possibilities and limitations of their agency in the context of a range of structural opportunities and constraints can empower them to become more critical agents as they develop their identities as academics. However, the value of such centralised interventions also depends on the quality of departmental and institutional cultures, and their capacity to create an environment that supports creative engagement by new academics in aligning their own philosophies of teaching with their department and institution.