Study title | Knowledge in the UK Educational Development 

Investigators | Jo Kukuczka (University of Warwick), Natalie Forde-Leaves (University of South Wales) 

Contact | Principal Investigator | Jo Kukuczka | jo.kukuczka@warwick.ac.uk 

Invitation 

Welcome and thank you for your interest in this research study! You are invited to participate in the project on Knowledge in Educational Development in the UK. Before you decide to take part, please read the following information. 

• You need to be 18 or over to participate, 

• You need to identify as an Educational Development/Academic Development practitioner currently working in the UK HEI context to participate, 

• You can participate in Phase 1 (survey) only, or in Phase 1 and Phase 2 (interview) data collection, 

• Your participation is voluntary, 

• Your participation in Phase 1 (survey) is anonymous – this means that once your responses have been submitted, it will not be possible to withdraw this data 

• Your participation in Phase 2 (interview) will collect identifiable data that will be anonymised as soon as no longer needed and by 30th June 2025 the latest. You can withdraw your Phase 2 (interview) data up until 30th June 2025 by emailing Principal Investigator. 

 👉 How to participate 

Find out more | Read the below PIL and/or contact Principal Investigator on jo.kukuczka@warwick.ac.uk should you have any questions before you decide whether to participate. 

Complete the survey | Proceed to Phase 1 Consent and Survey here https://forms.office.com/e/EgPY3VHbYg  

What this project is about 

This project aims to investigate the current knowledge base within the field of Educational Development (ED) in the UK higher education (HE). In particular, we are interested in investigating knowledge conceptualised as educational theory and employed in the practices of the ED professionals in the UK. 

The expert work of ED professionals within the UK HE is instrumental in advancing pedagogic excellence through approaches that inspire transformative learning experiences and yet, the extent to which the ED practices are informed by appropriate theory (and therefore, legitimatised within and beyond the field) has been both, contested, and under-researched (Carew et al., 2008; Clegg, 2009; Laksov & Huijser, 2020; Vorster & Quinn, 2017). This study aspires to contribute to the closing of this gap, while strengthening the position of the UK ED scholarship, and with it, the global HE pedagogic excellence informed by it.  

References 

Carew, A.L., Lefoe, G., Bell, M., & Armour, L. (2008). Elastic Practice in academic developers. International Journal for Academic Development. 13(1), 51-66. 

Clegg, S. (2009). Forms of knowing and academic development practice. Studies in Higher Education. 34(4), 403-416 

Laksov, K.B. and Huijser, H. (2020). 25 years of accomplishments and challenges in academic development – where to next? International Journal for Academic Development. 25(4), 293-296. 

Vorster, J. and Quinn, L. (2017). The ‘decolonial turn’: What does it mean for academic staff development? Education as Change. 21(1), 31-49. 

How we will collect data 

The data collection will consist of two phases. You can participate in Phase 1 only or in Phase 1 and Phase 2. 

Phase 1| Survey 

The survey will focus on investigating the ED professionals’ views on what forms of knowledge inform their practices and how they are enacted. Phase 1 data collection will take place in March/April 2025. The survey will be 10-20 mins long. The survey will be online via MS Forms. 

Phase 2 | Interview 

The interview will aim to delve deeper into finding out why the reported (in the survey) forms of knowledge are valued and utilised. To enable a better understanding of your views, your Phase 2 responses will be linked with your Phase 1 responses. Phase 2 data collection will take place in May/June 2025. The interview will be 30-60 mins long. The interview will be online via MS Teams. 

How data will be used 

Any identifiable data will be anonymized as soon as no longer needed and by 30th June 2025 the latest. Data will be stored on a secure password-protected University of Warwick network drive and will be processed only for the purpose of scientific analysis. Access to the data will be restricted to the investigators listed above. Once anonymized and analysed, the findings will be disseminated via conference papers and publications. Data will be reviewed on completion of the research, in line with the University of Warwick data retention policy. The Collaborating Investigator will have access to the anonymised data. 

Please refer to the University of Warwick Research Privacy Notice which is available here: https://warwick.ac.uk/services/idc/dataprotection/privacynotices/researchprivacynotice or by contacting the Information and Data Compliance Team at infocompliance@warwick.ac.uk. 

Ethical approval 

This study has been reviewed and given favourable opinion by the University of Warwick’s Humanities and Social Sciences Research Ethics Committee (HSSREC) HSSREC 87/24-25 Kukuczka. 

If you require further information, please contact Principal Investigator on jo.kukuczka@warwick.ac.uk. 

Who to contact if you wish to make a complaint 

Any complaint should be addressed to the person below, who is a senior University of Warwick official entirely independent of this study: 

Head of Research Governance 

Research & Impact Services 

University House 

University of Warwick 

Coventry 

CV4 8UW 

Email: researchgovernance@warwick.ac.uk 

Tel: 02476 575733 

If you wish to raise a complaint on how we have handled your personal data, you can contact our Data Protection Officer who will investigate the matter: DPO@warwick.ac.uk.  

If you are not satisfied with our response or believe we are processing your personal data in a way that is not lawful you can complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). 

👉 How to participate 

Thank you for taking the time to read this PIL. Please contact Principal Investigator on jo.kukuczka@warwick.ac.uk should you have any questions before you decide whether to participate. 

If you decided to take part in this study, please proceed to Phase 1 Consent and Survey here https://forms.office.com/e/EgPY3VHbYg