Olga M. Alegre de la Rosa 
Research on University Teaching and Faculty Development 
International Perspectives

The book Research on University Teaching and Faculty Development: International Perspectives contains twenty-five solid and powerful chapters treating research aspects that reflect current university issues in ten countries. The book has been written by 60 proficient educators and accredited researchers. They have explored university teaching and faculty development as a field of inquiry that uses qualitative and quantitative methodological approaches for studying almost forty university topics. These themes range from academic planning, accountability, and action research to change in teacher education.The question of a relationship between university teaching and teacher induction is first introduced in the book to train future teachers with techniques and social elements that require a scientific rather than an artistic approach to reflective practices. Eight chapters inquire why some university campuses produce more/better collaborative teaching and change predisposition in higher education. The sort of attempt to discover activeness during teaching practice and to define the nature of the induction year may well provide a path to some basic understanding and offers tremendous research potential into the teaching profession.The second section of the book regards faculty development as an enigma. Written throughout five chapters, it stresses expert-novice studies to make coherent sense out of experience within the faculty. The action research approach is a basic method to studying active teaching/assessment and, accordingly, to an understanding of the forces resulting in the internal consistency of the learning community’s styles and processes. A crucial point is the female perspective at the higher education level that has permeated the culture of justice. The third part of the book contains six chapters of a quality nature. Governments and funding initiatives are focusing on the provision of university leadership development as a vehicle for renewing curriculum and quality assurance. The major beneficiaries of a well-run university change system in higher education are the students and graduates of any age, social and personal condition. New research on student assessment is unique among academic responsibilities in providing a direct linkage between learning activities and quality assurance, strategic decision-making processes. In this respect, how universities interpret inclusive education for students with developmental disabilities, and establishing structural relationships with society are important strategic matters to improve the functioning of the university’s organization.Technology as an agent of university change is the fourth part of the book. It covers six chapters dealing with the impact of digital technology on traditional academic practices. Students’ navigating discourses seem appropriate to enhance university learning because they intersect knowledge, competencies, confidence, information, and communication. The present day routine of Web 2.0 instruments in university teaching includes the use of computer generation and storage, to create and disseminate artifacts of undergraduate and graduate students.