Higher education teachers' descriptions of their own learning: a large-scale study of Finnish Universities of Applied Sciences

• Published in: Higher education research and development Vol. 35; no. 6; pp. 1284 - 1297
• Main Authors: Töytäri, Aija, Piirainen, Arja, Tynjälä, Päivi, Vanhanen-Nuutinen, Liisa, Mäki, Kimmo, Ilves, Vesa
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Routledge 01.11.2016
• Subjects: College Faculty; College Outcomes Assessment; College Science; College Students; Experiences of learning; Foreign Countries; Higher Education; Higher education programs; higher education teachers; Learning processes; Partnerships in Education; Phenomenography; Qualitative Research; Science Instruction; Science Teachers; Sciences; Self evaluation (Individuals); Surveys; Teacher Collaboration; Teacher improvement; Teacher Role; Teacher Surveys; Technology; university of applied sciences; University teaching; Finland
• ISSN: 0729-4360; 1469-8366
• DOI: 10.1080/07294360.2016.1152574

In this large-scale study, higher education teachers' descriptions of their own learning were examined with qualitative analysis involving application of principles of phenomenographic research. This study is unique: it is unusual to use large-scale data in qualitative studies. The data were collected through an e-mail survey sent to 5960 teachers at universities of applied sciences in Finland. The number of respondents was 1622. Four hierarchically structured categories of learning were found: individual learning, collegial learning, team learning and innovative partnership learning. The role of teachers in higher education demands innovative partnership learning: being active at the societal level with workplaces and international partners.