ABSTRACT
Within the context of the ecological university, the professional development of teaching staff needs to be reconceptualized. Rather than accepting reductive linear models of development that suggest a simplistic transition from novice to expert, we need to embrace the inherent complexity of rhizomatic development and exploit the adoption of a number of ecological principles to illustrate a navigable pathway through the complexity. In this the teacher is seen to develop across adaptive cycles. These cycles represent developmental plateaus of increasing professional independence that are reactive to territorializing and deterritorializing factors in the environment. The tendency of neoliberal management systems to favour territorialization by accepting the status quo leads to the inhibition of development (described in the ecological literature as rigidity gaps) within the adaptive cycles. That in turn creates conditions that promote pedagogic frailty – a condition in which the elements that should enhance the teaching environment are seen to be repressive. To counter this negative image of inert university teaching, sections of the rhizome can be illustrated using concept mapping to illuminate the dynamic institutional natural history as a step towards the ecological resilience (i.e. embracing change and adaptability) that is required to support teaching in an ecological university.
