معرفی
Dr. Esther van Dijk is an Educational Consultant/Trainer and Education Development Officer at Utrecht University's Educational Development & Training unit within the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences. She obtained her PhD in 2023 with research focused on expertise development of academics, following a collaboration between the Centre for Academic Teaching (UU), the Department of Pedagogy and Education (UU), and the Education Center (UMC Utrecht).
Her educational background includes a Master in Public Management (2016-2017, cum laude) and a Master in Educational Sciences (2015-2016, cum laude), both from Utrecht University, as well as a Bachelor in Public Administration and Organizational Science (2012-2015). Prior to her current role, she served as a postdoc researcher at UMC Utrecht (September 2022-September 2023) and completed her PhD candidacy (January 2018-June 2023).
Dr. van Dijk specializes in higher education research with a focus on teacher expertise development, Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL), and professional development of university teachers. Her approach emphasizes 'teaching what you preach'—demonstrating educational concepts through practical application in her training sessions. She supports higher education teachers through courses, coaching (including video-based coaching), educational development assistance, and guidance with practice-based education research.
Her publication record shows a consistent focus on understanding and enhancing university teaching practices, with recent work examining self-efficacy development in novice teachers, expertise development across teacher tasks, and the connection between disciplinary knowledge and teaching expertise. Her research employs diverse methodologies including case studies, Rasch analysis, and conceptual frameworks.
As an advisor, Dr. van Dijk focuses on teacher professional development, course and curriculum innovation, and embedding practice-based education research in higher education institutions. Her background in both organizational science and educational science allows her to address educational challenges from multiple perspectives.
