Call for papers: Special Issue - Innovation in Learning and Teaching in Higher Education
Vol. 14, Special Issue (February 2024)
Issue Editors: Tomaž Deželan, Janez Vogrinc
Various projects and efforts are underway worldwide to improve the quality of teaching and learning in higher education. In Slovenia, the Innovative Learning and Teaching for Quality Careers of Graduates and Excellent Higher Education (INOVUP) project was implemented to improve the quality of higher education by introducing more flexible, modern forms of learning and teaching. This special issue follows the activities of the project to spur further research and find answers to questions recognised in the area of learning and teaching in higher education. The issue should benefit various stakeholders, including teaching staff and associate staff supporting teachers and policymakers.
The need to develop and apply more flexible methods and approaches to learning and teaching seems inevitable when students are placed at the centre of the higher education process. The question is whether teaching staff are adequately pedagogically trained and whether the higher education community offers sufficient support for changes in the teaching and learning process. The exceptional circumstances surrounding Covid-19, which have (temporarily) disrupted existing teaching and learning processes, present additional challenges to maintaining the high quality of higher education. Pedagogical practices or ways of fostering student engagement used in face-to-face teaching require, when transferred to online learning environments, good pedagogical competences, systematic thinking about how to support student learning, and a thoughtful selection of information communication technology tools. A broad public debate involving different stakeholders in higher education seems to be the only appropriate way to find solutions to the issues raised.
As a starting point, we pose several questions to explore and obtain further insights and contributions:
- What are the challenges and opportunities of applying innovative and flexible forms of learning and teaching in higher education? What factors promote and inhibit progress in innovative teaching and learning?
- What do higher education teachers need for their teaching and career development? What kind of support and opportunities could be offered? What are the latest approaches to promoting teaching excellence and student-centred teaching and learning?
- What are the challenges and dilemmas of higher education after the pandemic? What are good teaching practices to maintain and promote student engagement in the academic community?
- What should collaboration among higher education institutions look like in the future to pursue the goals of excellence most effectively in higher education? What kinds of systemic changes could be implemented to reward excellent teaching?
Theoretical and empirical articles are welcomed and can include titles like:
- Student-centred teaching and learning.
- Raising the quality of teaching at university.
- Student engagement in higher education.
- Systems for strengthening learning and teaching in Slovenia and the state of needs in this area.
Article submission timeline:
1 October 2022: submission of paper title and abstract with up to five keywords [250 words max.]
31 January 2023: paper submission [between 5,000 and 7,000 words]
February 2024: publication of the special issue
Please send the abstract to editors@cepsj.si clearly stating the title of the focus issue.
Manuscripts should be from 5,000 to 7,000 words long, including the abstract and reference list. They should be written in UK English. Submissions should be original and unpublished work not currently under review by another journal or publisher.
When preparing the manuscript, please follow our guidelines, which are available here:
