ABSTRACT
The quality of teaching in higher education (He) has become a global issue in recent years, and the need to improve both teaching skills and pedagogical thinking is now acknowledged to be essential (Postareff, Lindblom-Ylänne, and Nevgi 2008). Although research recognizes that excellent teaching, based on scholarship and skills, maximizes deep learning, as Scott (2003) points out, the global attainment of teaching excellence will require a cultural change in higher education institutions (Heis). This requirement is a particular problem in Central and Eastern Europe. For Estonia this is an outcome of the combination of regional (the collapse of the Soviet Union) and global factors (economic crises), which have caused a dire need for change in the national approach to teaching in Heis. The process of change in Estonia was complicated by the social-political-economic transition process of the 1990s, restoration of independence in 1991, and membership in the European Union in 2004.
