Dissertation
Understanding teacher agency in universities: why and how lecturers shape and navigate university teaching practices
The dissertation by Max Kusters (PhD at ICLON) examined ‘teacher agency’: the capacity of university lecturers to actively and purposefully influence their teaching practices and work conditions.
- Author
- Max Kusters
- Date
- 03 July 2025
- Links
- Fulltext in Leiden University Scholarly Publications
As universities grapple with the rise of artificial intelligence, increasingly diverse student populations, and growing political influence, understanding how and why lecturers exercise ‘teacher agency’ has become crucial for the future of university teaching.
Max Kusters developed an innovative scenario-based approach to capture authentic responses from lecturers. He created 23 realistic scenarios that reflect the complex realities of contemporary university teaching. He used this method because teacher agency is strongly context-dependent, requiring rich situational detail to elicit genuine responses from participants about their professional decision-making processes and considerations.
The findings advocate for a fundamental shift in how universities approach teaching evaluation and support. Rather than relying on traditional metrics, the research suggests using teacher agency as a framework for assessing educational quality, offering a more authentic, holistic, and meaningful measure.
Universities need to genuinely value teaching and educational development, the research emphasizes, calling for policies and practices that empower lecturers and recognize the complexity of their professional work.