Developing core categories for a comprehensive theory of educational change in higher education

The impending end of programmes such as the German “Qualitätspakt Lehre” (QPL) has enlivened discussions on how to sustain developments in teaching and learning at Higher Education Institutions (HEI). To date, no comprehensive theory exists to analyse and design educational change processe at HEI, as change concepts from corporate contexts are not well-suited for the organisational specifics of the HE context. Recent research, however, has provided new inputs that can inspire the development of a context-specific change theory. This paper suggests two base concepts as core categories for a theory of educational change in higher education.