ABSTRACT
The nature of academic developers’ (AD) leading and teaching responsibilities differs from that of other academics since its focus is academic development for staff rather than teaching students. Nevertheless, their commitment to providing higher education as public good for all students is shared in common. ADs’ teaching commitment comprises pedagogical courses, increasingly a requirement for newly appointed academics, and consultancy work, in which they are assigned the specific responsibility to lead processes of academic development to enhancing the quality of university teaching more broadly, working with whole teams or entire faculties. Their responsibilities serve a dual purpose, namely to make courses and consultation work a public good, while also encouraging academic colleagues to develop their teaching as public good, as well as for public good. There is neither a “quick fix” nor a “best practice” to apply to the very diverse and complex leadership and pedagogical challenges academics face in the context of contemporary higher education.
