Publications by Peter Van Petegem
Know-who? Linking faculty’s networks to stages of instructional development.
Research into faculty’s instructional development has primarily focused on individual skills and ... more Research into faculty’s instructional development has primarily focused on individual skills and knowledge, while studies in other educational settings are increasingly considering the importance of collegial interactions for professional development and improved student outcomes. As collegial interactions may support or constrain faculty’s professional development in higher education, this study compared and contrasted faculty networks in different stages of instructional development (novice, experienced, and expert teachers). To capture faculty networks, an egocentric network approach was used to examine network size, tie strength, and network diversity. A total of 30 faculty members were interviewed. Results, based on analyses of variance and multilevel analyses, suggest three key findings: (a) faculty members in different stages of instructional development vary in the size of their network that they use to gain access to knowledge and information about their teaching practice; (b) faculty members in different stages have access to different types of networks in terms of relational strength; and (c) faculty members in different stages of development differ in the degree of similarity (i.e., homophily) between the people in their networks, specifically in the teaching experience of their contacts. Expert teachers have larger, stronger and more diverse networks compared to experienced teachers. Novices also tend to have larger networks but they are characterized by lower tie strength and less diversity. These findings provide evidence for the importance of collegial interactions for faculty’s instructional development. Implications for faculty’s instructional development at different stages are elaborated on.
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Publications by Peter Van Petegem