024. ‘I’d rather talk about the pleasures of education’ – in conversation with the teaching collective at VU University Amsterdam

Dutch

Not everyone is capable of providing inspiring academic teaching. An increasing number of Dutch institutions are now offering professorships to academics who distinguish themselves through their teaching skills. To further strengthen this process of recognition and rewards, an educational collective has been established at VU University Amsterdam. Members Yvette Taminiau and Elza van Deel are very enthusiastic and explain the initiative.

What is an educational collective and what does it do?

Elza van Deel: ‘It is a group of more experienced academics who work to strengthen the position of teaching within the VU. We meet once every two months to exchange knowledge, provide mentoring and share experiences. For example, we also compare the faculties’ implementation plans for ‘Recognising & Rewards’, to see how issues that go wrong in one faculty have been resolved elsewhere. Or what kind of logic is used to maintain the status quo, and how we can help break through that.’

Yvette Taminiau: ‘And we are committed to fostering a quality-focused mindset when it comes to assessing the quality of teaching. We are currently working on a vision. We first exchanged a great deal of experiences and got to know one another. We are exploring ways to collectively establish a strong voice on education within the university. This will enable us to be a serious discussion partner for the Executive Board. In that sense, we are a lobbying body. We were brought together by Janneke Waelen, director of the VU Teaching and Learning Centre. She is taking fantastic steps.’

@elzavandeel en Yvette Taminiau

Which themes are most central to your discussions?

Van Deel: ‘Recognition & Rewards – that’s what it all boils down to. In theory, the whole programme is reasonably well on track, but in practice it is still expressed in very different ways. It’s a fine concept, but one that is interpreted differently in different places. At Amsterdam UMC, for example, you see that education is officially just as important a pillar as research and care. But the latter two still quite naturally receive much more attention.’

Taminiau: ‘We also highlight the specific areas where undervaluation occurs. For example, the caring aspect of our work is often underestimated. If you’re passionate about what you do, it’s not just a case of delivering a lecture and then going home. You care about your students’ ups and downs, and you’re aware that you’re investing in the future.’

Where do you still encounter friction between your expertise in education and current academic practice?

Taminiau: ‘Management teams are often made up of researchers who, from their own perspective, have worked extremely hard on top-tier publications and the status that comes with that. Many researchers feel it’s unfair to be promoted for doing “something as easy” as teaching. There’s a certain fear underlying this. ‘Soon everyone will suddenly become a professor with a teaching profile and everything will be easy.’ So they fanatically fill new policies with hordes of courses and competencies to prevent things from becoming too easy. Before you know it, you’re still in a situation that’s like looking for a Jack of all trades.’

Van Deel: ‘It is still very common for managers to expect academic staff with a teaching profile to produce top-tier publications. As with any emancipation movement, it is a process that comes in waves. When women’s suffrage began, it was the men who had to decide that women could participate. Now it is the researchers who have to decide on the teaching specialists, which is why it doesn’t work the way you would expect based on rational considerations.’
‘This year, people with an educational background have been deliberately appointed to our Talent Appointment Committee. Their input will, of course, be helpful. It’s a snowball effect and we’re still only just at the beginning, but I’m really hopeful.’

How does it affect you when you hear colleagues using condescending language about education?

Taminiau: ‘I never use those negative terms myself. I prefer to talk about the joy of educational activities.’

Van Deel: ‘I can sort of imagine where terms like “chore” or “teaching burden” come from. With the obligation on everyone to teach, we assume that everyone can do it. That’s not the case. It’s a talent and a drive that not everyone is blessed with. I can’t ask those kinds of people to talk enthusiastically about their lectures.’

Taminiau: ‘At the same time, I find it difficult to deny people without that talent this task; it would be a shame if students didn’t come into contact with top researchers.’

Van Deel: ‘In an ideal world, it would be fantastic if everyone could do what they love and we still had enough people available to do what needs to be done. I’m afraid that, in practice, people will start avoiding the education sector. Our students really do need the experts.’

But isn’t the picture you are painting of an expert in academia a bit too narrow? One could also – to put it bluntly – argue that research is self-absorbed and individually oriented, whereas education is socially reciprocal and sustainable. With a view like this in mind, couldn’t education take on a much more honourable aura?

Van Deel: ‘Yes, that is what we are striving for as a collective. I am convinced that in ten years’ time, we will have taken many more steps in that direction. We just aren’t there yet. The aim is that there will no longer be any comparison between teaching and research, and that both will be respected pillars of the university.’

Elza van Deel is a Senior Lecturer in Educational Innovation at Amsterdam UMC. She started out as a researcher in cardiovascular diseases – ‘a die-hard lab nerd’ – and gradually discovered her passion for and talent in teaching. Eight years ago, however, she left the university due to a lack of career development opportunities. Her new position as a lecturer in educational innovation turned out to be a perfect fit, and she has been back for two years now. She has noticed that a lot has changed for the better since she left. ‘The mindset is really different. Career paths have been created, funding is available, those in senior positions are aware of the imbalance, and it’s discussed in annual reviews. When I left six years ago, absolutely everyone still saw teaching as a chore; now it’s becoming increasingly important.’

Yvette Taminiau is an Associate Professor of Organisational Studies at VU University Amsterdam. She personally championed her application for a position as a professor. This was only successful after she had provided a detailed account of her achievements over an extended period. She subsequently won the Van Duijn Schouten Teaching Award in 2023 with that same argument. For the past ten years, she has been organising an alumni event to introduce Master’s students to the world of work. She also facilitates intensive collaboration on research projects between her students and the business community and initiated a mentoring project for students with a bicultural background in the Zuidas business district. ‘Looking back, it would have been easier if the activities I undertook had been part of the annual appraisal. There was nothing about them in UFO. What gave me energy didn’t fit in anywhere; I did it because I enjoyed it and thought it was important. Ultimately, I was only able to reap the rewards very late on. Fortunately, thanks to Recognition & Rewards, more and more is becoming possible in the area of professional development.’

Interview by @claartjechajes, translation by Deepl.com

*The education collective is taking part in a national discussion group on Recognition & Rewards for education professionals on the community platform RRview. Would you like to join in or stay up to date with developments? Take a look here.