Tensions in Pedagogical Competence Development Programs – Challenges and Possibilities Towards an Ecology of Solidarity

Abstract

Abstract Pedagogical competence development programs are now the norm across Scandinavia, and the higher education sector more generally. These programs are being implemented in an increasingly complex higher education landscape of different influences and interests. Being entangled inside a web of commitments, the enactment of such programs brings with it different challenges and tensions. In this article, we explore how university pedagogues experience and approach different tensions within the university ecology. We argue that university pedagogues responsible for pedagogical competence development are in a unique position to describe and point towards challenges and tensions which emerge in-between the accountabilities and responsibilities of their programs. Based on a qualitative analysis of 16 interviews with university pedagogues across nine universities in Scandinavia, we have constructed the theme of conflicts between, and within, pedagogical competence development programs and university ecology for further exploration. Grounded in the analysis of the empirical material, we subsequently discuss the findings in the light of solidarity, web of commitments and ecology as central concepts. Finally, we outline how an ecology of solidarity can be a step forward for university pedagogy and the role it can play at the university.