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The aim of this study is to explore the extent to which a transnational pedagogical training affected university teachers' approaches to teaching, as well as their efficacy beliefs and cultural perceptions, and to examine how such training could stimulate teachers' pedagogical-development processes beyond the specific context.

An explanatory sequential mixed-methods design was adopted for the study. Quantitative data were collected through an online self-reported questionnaire from two-independent samples, both before (n = 119) and after (n = 110) the training. Qualitative data were collected after the training through episodic narrative interviews with five teachers.

The quantitative and qualitative findings indicate contradictory aspects of the teaching approach and perceived culture. While the questionnaire responses highlighted the dominance of teacher-centred teaching approaches and an individualistic culture, a thematic analysis of the interview data showed that teachers experienced pedagogical development as (1) increasing student engagement, (2) improving their own teaching practices, (3) a community activity and (4) an institutionalised process.

The design of the current research may have limited the authors’ potential to deeply investigate the effect of the transnational pedagogical training, as only snapshots of the teachers' perceptions were elicited. Future studies might consider a within-subject longitudinal design to thoroughly follow teachers' trajectories in learning and development over time.

The research findings suggest that transnational pedagogical training initiatives are to be promoted amidst these uncertain times. Even though the focus of the study was not to explore the teachers' perceptions of teaching development during the pandemic, the current results imply that the mentioned training helped teachers in tailoring their pedagogical practices to suit the unexpected online teaching settings.

The study adds to the relatively new literature on the perceived effect of transnational pedagogical training initiatives. This study’s findings contribute to the body of knowledge related to pedagogical development in fragile and conflict-affected contexts.

Student engagement evaluation is considered to be connected to many aspects of the management of higher education, but outside Western higher education, research and evaluation on student engagement and experiences has been limited so far. Our study focuses on the underexplored aspects of Palestinian higher education with the aim of gaining an actionable understanding from the overall student engagement situation to enhance the management and development of local teaching and learning practices.

A quantitatively oriented, sequential mixed-methods design was adopted. With the applied and validated engagement measurement we collected 946 engagement questionnaire responses from Palestinian university students. Quantitative data were analysed using structural equation modelling, K-means cluster analysis and chi-squared tests. Inductive and deductive thematic analysis was employed for the open answers.

With the three validated student engagement dimensions, the applied cluster analysis allowed three different engagement profile groups to be distinguished: strongly, moderately and loosely engaged. In the subsequent statistical and qualitative thematic analyses, these three engagement clusters differ in the degree to which they had a clear vision of a future profession or in their academic engagement with their studies. Moreover, qualitative analysis brought up many shared concerns regarding theoretically oriented studies and uncertain professional and career prospects in the Palestinian higher education context.

This study is one of the first attempts to develop tools for student engagement management in Palestinian higher education. The study findings are particularly significant for developing micro- and meso-level management practices in Palestinian higher education institutions.

Our chapter explores the benefits of informal academic communities by focusing on the Finland-based early career higher education researchers' network (ECRN). Established two years ago, the ECRN primarily operates through monthly online coffee meetings. Via dialogical reflections by the authors and a qualitative inquiry into the ECRN, we explore the ECRN's role in its members' professional growth and well-being. We provide a narrative vignette of an imagined online coffee meeting to illustrate the significant peer-learning conversations in the ECRN. Based on our dialogical approach, we conclude that the ECRN is beneficial for its members' professional growth and well-being as it provides peer support, information sharing, scholarly support and higher education research-related support. Hence, we call for academia to better recognise and support informal academic communities as they have the potential to nourish a more collaborative working culture in academia.