| As the Boyer Report was published at the beginning of1990s, undergraduate teaching at universities and colleges has emerged as a hot issue in higher education globally. Furthermore, division of teaching support and services (TSS) as an important mechanism to assure quality teaching at universities and colleges, begins to attract more and more attention. Recently, the TSS is emerging at higher education institutions (HEIs) in China (Mainland), while it has been evolving for fifty years in Western world. Given the great time gap between the TSS in China and that in Western, and its significance to improve teaching quality in higher education, research on TSS has become much more critical since the time of mass higher education came to China. Therefore, the study examines and analyses the history and current status of TSS, especially focuses on TSS units in universities and colleges, and clarifies the future directions of TSS development in China.As the first step of the study, the research method of "event path" used in historical study is embeded in the four-steps comparative method in education proposed by George Bereday. The cause-effect mechanism of TSS evolution in U.S., Australia, and U.K. is studied from two-fold perspectives of history and comparative education. There are several findings during this phase of study:(1) the mass of higher education is the most essential factor which cause the appearance of TSS at HEIs;(2) the number of TSS units is growing all the time with strenthening organization and professionalism since their first existance in 1960s;(3) instructional technology support has been one of the major function of TSS units at HEIs. Meanwhile, the organizational change of TSS units is mostly led by information technology (IT).The second step comes to study the development of TSS in a typical country which is Canada, and the "event path "method is used one more time to review the history of TSS in Canada. Then, content analysis method is used to analyse the the data collected from TSS units at21sample universities and colleges in Canada in order to know perceive the status-quo of TSS development at HEIs nationally. It is found that (1) the emergence of TSS in Canada was caused by the internal needs of teaching improvement at HEIs and some outstanding teaching professors’ leadship;(2) excellent TSS centres can exert positive impact on those which are not so good;(3) gradually speaking, IT has more and more impact on the efficiency and effectiveness of TSS, while more organizational changes of TSS are caused by IT;(4) building a tri-level teaching support and services, which includes TSS units at university level, divisional level and program level, has been a trend forward.The next step of the study begins with a case study on the TSS at the University of Toronto from a micro-perspective. It is discovered that (1) the efficiency and effectiveness of TSS is assured through more organized and professional processes;(2) attention and support from senior university administrators, and formation of teaching reward culture are also key factors which influence the quality of TSS;(3) outstanding university teachers and educational researchers are the best candidates to lead TSS to succeed;(4) the establishment of Advisory Board and review mechanism for TSS division is an effective way to enhance the performence of TSS;(5) the integration of educational technology support and pedagogical services side by side is a signaficant trend from now on.Based on the research above, it is analysed the curent status of TSS development at HEIs in China from a local perspective. And content analysis and case study method are used to conduct this part of research. It is revealed that (1) teaching management, teaching control and teaching assessment are three major ways to assure the undergraduate teaching quality in China, the role of TSS is undervalued;(2) the emergence of TSS in China is caused by the growing needs of teaching improvement from faculty members and HEIs themselves, which amplified by the undergraduate teaching assessment project launched by Ministry of Education of China. What is more, TSS abroad, and senior administrators’ support are still critical factors to lead to the birth of TSS. It is proved that government intervention is an effective way to facilitate the growth of TSS in China.With a"deepening step by step"research design and comprehensive use of appropriate research methods, it is generalized some contusions from the multi-perspectives research above as follows:(1) the mass of higher education leads to the emergence of TSS at HEIs;(2) the establishment of TSS division has been an important part of modern university system, while organized and professionl TSS grows as a necessary trend;(3) IT exerts great impact on the organizational change of TSS;(4) the development of TSS at HEIs is influenced by different parties related to TSS, and the historical backgroud at specific time;(5) it is possible to facilitate the systemic change of university teaching through a tri-level model of TSS;(6) educational researchers and institute of education at universities and colleges are leaders of TSS development forward;(7) teaching management, monitoring and control, and assessment are the most used strategies to assure the teaching quality at HEIs in China, with little teaching support. Therefore, it is suggested that the HEIs could innovate university system through setting up TSS unit as a permanent mechanism to provide long-term pedagogical services, make TSS more organized and professionalized gradually. Besides, government intervention and building of tri-level approach for TSS are two possible strategies to improve university teaching systemically. |
