In this article, the authors use their own collective half century's experience of academic development to review the nature and evolution of the profession. They argue that, having risen from a peripheral and largely individual activity to a sometimes central and sometimes highly valued activity, academic development may achieve its apotheosis,…

Appreciative inquiry (AI) offers a constructive, strengths-based framework for engaging students and staff in the enhancement of academic programmes of study. This paper explores the basis of AI, its potential for educational development and the many agendas it might help address. Students and academic staff involved in an AI project, focused on…

Faced with the challenges of the changes in: higher education, educational developers' roles and the use of innovation to stimulate change, this study aimed to synthesise literature dealing with the diffusion of innovative learning and teaching practices in higher education to determine what lessons could be learnt. The findings suggest that the…

The history of educational development is rooted in the improvement of teaching techniques. As a result, centres or units have normally been located in central registrars or human resources departments, library, learning and technical support services, or established as semi-autonomous entities. The alignment of educational development with…