Pathways toward improving teaching and learning in higher education: International context and background

People are drawn to the field of improving teaching and learning in higher education from a variety of disciplines and backgrounds, but before we look at these “pathways,” we need to delve into the history, international variations, and similarities of the field of faculty/educational/academic development to provide a context for what has happened to make this field important to the vitality of teaching and learning in higher education all over the world.