The objective of the research is to improve the design and delivery of e-learning curriculum with a view to enabling the potential of e-learning work towards inclusivity for the institution’s students and staff with physical and learning disabilities. The specific context in which this takes place is in the area of academic development, which is charged with assisting in the provision of e-learning support to academic staff who in turn facilitate the learning of students with disabilities.

The research consisted of a qualitative study conducted with the collaboration of academic colleagues in the institution. The data were collected from an audio-taped focus group interview. The main findings show that initial collaborations need to be consolidated between the key stakeholders of Disability Services, Learning Technology Team and Academic Development to ensure that further training and piloting of online learning materials take place in order to support staff and students with disabilities in participating in e-learning courses and initiatives across the institution.

The study concludes with a series of recommendations including a possible framework devised by participants in order that the e-learning approach be adopted into the training and development initiatives taking place each academic year in the institution. An evaluation strategy is also proposed to measure any impact of the changes to practice.

My professional role involves the provision of academic support for newly appointed staff at the Institute. I felt there was a discrepancy between what I felt should be happening for these new staff members and the reality of the provision of academic support. I decided to conduct an action research study over a three month period to investigate this discrepancy. The focus of the study was myself, and what I was doing to support these new lecturers. My claim at the end of this study is that I now have a clearer picture of the problem areas in academic support levels encountered by newly appointed academic staff.

My evidence emerged from an analysis of a transcript of a focus group session held with six members of academic staff as the participants in my study, through asking them what their learning needs were as they began their new posts, and at the various stages thereafter. Due to the fact that I felt that the research should be manageable and be under the direct control of myself as the practitioner, it was small-scale. My two colleagues in the Centre and a member of high level management agreed to form a validation group who worked with me to analyse the evidence to substantiate my claim.

Available from the Publisher http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17439880600756621

This paper reports on a research case study into a form of mentoring for teachers in higher education in Ireland with 30 academic staff. It begins with an exploration of the concept and practice of mentoring in the world of higher education professional development; focus will be limited to an overview of the concept of teacher mentoring, an exploration of its various expressions, and identification of facilitative measures that institutions can take to foster teacher mentoring. In theory, mentoring is beneficial for the mentor, the mentee, and the organization. Much of successful facilitating requires not only the transmission of information but also the care and encouragement of individuals to encourage reflective practice. Some problems arose in matching mentors and mentees, with too much of a knowledge/status/experience gap inhibiting and impeding the process. However the scheme is maximizing the best resources that a higher education can have – its own staff. Ultimately, the study discusses the nature of the benefits and considers how might this good idea be more widely adopted and practiced within the field of teacher professional development.