Negotiating strategic direction for education staff development: the Southampton experience

The School of Medicine at the University of Southampton has identified and implemented strategic direction for education staff development. This paper reports on the processes of consultation and negotiation undertaken to ensure the success of a strategic approach and reflects on the difficulties involved. In particular, it reports on the development of a successful training programme for established teachers and course coordinators. The authors recommend adopting a transformational style of leadership for staff development and argue that focusing on student needs helps overcome tensions between the institution and individual staff members.