Trust in and through Academic Development

Gabriela Pleschová, Kathryn A. Sutherland, Peter Felten, Rachel Forsyth, Mary C. Wright

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2026
• eBook ISBN: 9781040862209
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education General

Trust matters in higher education, yet it is often taken for granted. This book shows how trust—between students and teachers, faculty and academic developers, or individuals and institutions—shapes the ways we teach, learn, and work together.

Drawing on fresh research and first-hand accounts from across the world, this book reveals that trust is not static but a dynamic, reciprocal process. It is cultivated gradually through care, credibility, and openness, and it enables people to share vulnerabilities, take risks, and imagine new possibilities for teaching and learning. Contributors explore trust at many levels: in the classroom, in academic development programmes, and within wider institutional and cultural contexts. They demonstrate how trust allows people to share vulnerabilities, engage in honest conversations, and take risks that lead to more inclusive and effective teaching. At the same time, they address the challenges of mistrust and the work required to establish trustworthy practices and structures.

Accessible and thought-provoking, this book offers valuable insights for anyone interested in the human relationships at the heart of higher education. It makes a compelling case that trust-building is not optional but integral to effective teaching, meaningful learning, and transformative academic development.

This book was originally published as a special issue of International Journal for Academic Development.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half-Title Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• Citation Information
• Notes on Contributors
• Trust-building as inherent to academic development practice
• Academic development, trust, and the state of the profession
• The role of the academic developer as broker in building trust
• ‘You almost feel like you've got a friend, somebody who's backing you up': exploring the building blocks of trust within a relational pedagogy approach to academic development 
• Scaffolding trust to advance inclusive teaching through UDL: a model for academic development
• Trust and ethos in academic development: credibility, identity, and value
• Facilitating conversations about race: staff views on the importance of accountability and trust in a student-led project
• Trust and trustworthiness in pedagogical competence development programs: tensions between systemic contexts and interpersonal relationships
• Engineering students trust teachers who ask, listen, and respond
• Reflections on building trust with groups engaged in curriculum review
• Value of taught academic development programmes: building trust?
• How academic developers build trust in their work with other academics: the importance of cultivating a robust knowledge base
• Practicing trust between academic developers and faculty for equitable assessments: a reflection on practice
• Index