The pandemic changed the way academics teach, but will new approaches stick?
Jaclyn Broadbent and Deakin U colleagues asked academics and found they can, if staff think they are worth it.
They found that people positive about the changes that COVID lockdowns imposed on teaching were most likely to stick with them.
“Without a positive attitude, it is unlikely to matter how much others are doing or how much control you perceive yourself as having; it will not influence behaviour to change,” the authors wrote.
The areas that teachers might look at to assess whether change is worth it are student learning outcomes, engagement or workload.
Nor does age influence attitudes, “teachers at any stage of their career are equally likely to maintain change.”
Overall, “if organisations want to make changes with academics, they must make strong and persuasive cases” and that can depend on a university’s leadership and culture.
