The critical-constructive potential of academic development: a case study
通过追踪一个学术发展单位从2016到2021年的演变，展示了其如何从边缘角色成长为具有批判建设性、战略整合的机构，为高校提升教育质量提供实证参考。
In universities worldwide, there is an increased reliance on academic developers to contribute to enhancing higher education. As critical-constructive agents within their universities, academic developers have the potential to contribute to changes on the institutional level as well as on the level of educational practices. While such a role has been discussed in previous research, there are few empirical studies showing what it may look like in practice and how it may be nurtured and sustained. In this article, we explore the growth of an academic development unit over time, tracing its incremental shift from a constricted position with limited legitimacy and agency but emergent critical-constructive voices in 2016, to a centre holding an integrated and strategic position with a critical-constructive focus on the educational and societal mission of the university in 2021. The study contributes (1) an empirical example of how an increasingly integrated, influential and critical-constructive academic development unit may be nurtured; and (2) a conceptual framework to understand and enhance the critical-constructive potential of academic development.