Learner-centredness and leadership in post-pandemic higher education
Professor Kerri-Lee Krause, Avondale University
‘Pivot’ became a toxic word during the global pandemic. Overnight ‘pivots’ to online learning put great strain on educational systems and communities around the world. What did we learn about ourselves as a higher education (HE) community during those challenging pandemic times? For one thing, we learned a whole new language. Not only did we pivot, but we ‘self-quarantined’, we were ‘socially distanced’, we ‘doomscrolled’ and at times we were ‘zoom-bombed’. There was no ready-made curriculum or learning guide to get us through the global pandemic. We were learners, together, during unprecedented, unpredictable COVID times.
Post-COVID HE reforms call for us to build on what we have learned and to be more learner-centred in our practice and our leadership. Learner-centredness involves a shift – a pivot, if you will – in language, mindset and daily decision-making. It requires humility to hand over the so-called ‘power’ of expertise to fellow learners as we navigate uncharted waters together. Being learner-centred takes us beyond a traditional focus on enhancing the student experience, as important as that is, to engaging with students as self-directed, agentic learners. It represents a more expansive view of learners engaged in lifelong, lifewide learning unbounded by time, institution or place.
Students aren’t the only learners in your university. Thinking about academic faculty and professional staff as co-learners and co-constructors is an empowering way to reimagine the future of educational ecosystems. Beyond university walls, how could you foster partnerships with learners from school and vocational education systems? How might industry play a part in your learner ecosystems?
And what are the implications for HE leaders? Learner-centred HE leaders: ‘place learners at the heart of organisational planning and action, applying the principles of agentic co-creation with students and staff to facilitate sensemaking and growth in HE ecosystems’ (Krause, forthcoming).
Sensemaking is about being open-minded, willing to learn from and with others. It involves a focus on making meaning in the midst of chaotic and confusing situations, and a willingness to test hypotheses and experiment in order to innovate and find new meanings in times of crisis and change (Ancona & Bresman, 2018). This is especially useful for leaders of learning and teaching who face a multitude of disruptive forces including generative AI and the fragmentation of traditional HE curricula (Krause, 2022).
Whether you are leading a class discussion as a sessional tutor, leading a course or a Faculty, leading your colleagues in scholarly debates over coffee, leading your institution’s Library or learner wellbeing strategy or, indeed, leading your university, you have a pivotal role to play as a learner-centred HE leader.
These reflections are further expanded in my forthcoming book Learner-centred leadership in higher education: A practical guide.
Professor Kerri-Lee Krause PhD PFHEA FSRHE is Interim Vice-Chancellor at Avondale University