What makes a good teacher? A practice-based conceptualization of university teacher expertise and comparison to core practices from primary and secondary education

What makes a good university teacher? This question is central to a multitude of publications from both research and practice contexts, but there is a lack of consensus about the answer. In this study we therefore investigate international common ground about what constitutes teacher expertise by conducting a systematic review of 46 teaching frameworks. In line with literature about core practices, we synthesized these frameworks from a task-based perspective. Six teacher tasks were found: ‘teaching and supporting learning’, ‘educational design’, ‘assessment and feedback’, ‘educational leadership and management’, ‘educational scholarship and research’, and ‘professional development’. Additionally, three dimensions for expertise development were found: better task execution, executing a wider range of tasks, and executing tasks with a larger sphere of influence. With this study we expand our understanding of university teacher expertise and provide a basis for further research. In practice, the synthesis can be used for reflection by teachers as well as for shaping faculty development and institutional recognition and reward policies. The results of the present study and the core practices from primary and secondary education show overlap, but it also seems there is less emphasis on educational leadership and management and educational scholarship and research in core practices in primary and secondary education. Insights in these similarities and differences can be used for reflection about further development in all these education contexts.