Developing a supportive education culture

Education culture is the environment in which teaching and educational work take place. It includes the policies, processes, values, behaviours and everyday experiences that shape how educators are supported, recognised and rewarded. 

At the University of Leeds, we believe that excellent education depends on creating an environment where educators can thrive. Our Student Education Strategy highlights the importance of valuing teaching, collaboration, outreach and service alongside research. 

Across the Higher Education sector, there has been significant progress in supporting education-focused careers. However, educators can still face challenges in career development, recognition and progression. These challenges can affect staff experience, student experience and equality of opportunity. 

At Leeds, we are exploring how a stronger focus on education culture can help address these challenges.  

Rather than looking only at teaching frameworks or professional development opportunities, we consider the wider factors that influence educators' experiences. These include: 

• University processes and structures 
• Leadership and decision-making 
• Recognition and reward systems 
• Professional development opportunities 
• Networks and communities across the institution 

By understanding these factors, we can help create a more supportive environment for educators and improve the experience of our students. 

Our work has grown from earlier activities, including a series of Teaching and Scholarship Cafés and a range of Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) initiatives. This work has helped us identify the need for a more explicit focus on education culture. 

Our strategy has three connected areas of activity: 

1. Understand: We explore the experiences of educators and seek to understand existing educational cultures across the University. 
2. Connect: We share insights, encourage discussion and create opportunities for people to learn from one another. 
3. Influence: We promote education culture as an important part of institutional improvement and use evidence from our work to inform change initiatives. 

Our current activities include: 

• Researching educators' experiences 
• Exploring how educators are recognised and supported 
• Building on insights from previous engagement activities 
• Working with university initiatives that influence educational practice and culture 
• Sharing evidence and learning

Our work has already contributed to a range of outputs, including: 

• Baking an Education Culture, a WonkHE blog by Professor Anne Tallontire (University of Leeds) and Professor Hannah Cobb (University of Manchester)
• Preliminary findings from research project: Surfacing Education Culture (findings coming soon)

For more information about our education culture work, please contact Anne Tallontire, Academic Lead for Professional Development or the Student Education Development team at [email protected].