ABSTRACT
This chapter suggests that a deepening of the discourse on professional academic development via a grounding of the research and strategic thinking in theories about learning and professional development would be one way to contribute towards the credibility and stature of this field of endeavour. It begins with a consideration of the multiple terms and definitions associated with the field of professional development, and of the range of activities associated with it. The chapter continues with a discussion of the varied political and organisational influences that have had an impact on professional development over the past fifty years. Social realism draws on critical realist views propagated by Roy Bhaskar and closely allied to this, the social realist views of Margaret Archer. This is a social theory but it has been applied to the field of professional academic development in recent times by Quinn, Boughey and Niven, Kahn and Crawford.
