ERIC Number: EJ861648
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2009-Nov
Pages: 12
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0309-877X
EISSN: N/A
Feeding Innovation with Learning Lunches: Contextualising Academic Innovation in Higher Education
Dobbins, Kerry
Journal of Further and Higher Education, v33 n4 p411-422 Nov 2009
Since the 1980s higher education (HE) in the UK has been continually developing to meet the needs of a changing economy. An economy now based largely on knowledge and its transfer, rather than manual skills and labour, has led to an emphasis by the government on increasing the number of adults with high level skills to contribute to economic success. The widening participation agenda is an example of the government drive to increase the numbers and range of people attending university. It is within this context that the term "innovation" has grown in currency. A growing student population requires learning and teaching methods to be developed, adapted and changed to address the diversity of needs within it. Innovation in learning and teaching therefore may become vital to the success of an institution. But what encourages staff to innovate? The majority of this paper will discuss the context for the focus on innovation in HE in terms of its contributing factors, such as changing economic needs and the government agenda to widen participation. Brief discussion at the end will be given to one faculty's initiative to encourage staff to innovate within their own practice. This initiative presents the potential benefits of creating opportunities for staff to present, exchange and discuss new ideas as a stimulus to taking the first step in innovating.
Descriptors: Higher Education, Educational Innovation, Access to Education, Teaching Methods, Foreign Countries, Educational Change, College Students, Education Work Relationship, Economic Factors, Government Role, College Faculty, Technological Advancement, Student Needs, Nontraditional Students, Teacher Collaboration, Change Strategies, Labor Force Development
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: United Kingdom
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A