ABSTRACT
As academic developers, we rely on colleagues’ trust to a considerable degree. In this study, we explore how a person-centred approach to academic development, grounded in relational pedagogy, both relies upon and builds trust between staff and an academic development team. We discuss empirical data – from colleagues with whom we have worked – on their definitions of 40trust in relation to academic development, and the practices, orientations, and behaviours they see as conducive or inhibitive to trust. We conclude that, rather than ‘trustworthiness’ being seen as either an innate or credentialled quality, trust in the academic development space can be engendered and sustained through consistent, intentional practices that involve an awareness of perceived hierarchies, perceptions of risk, vulnerability, benevolence, and reciprocity.
