Editorial Introduction – Collaborative Professionalism and Professional Learning Communities in Higher Education

Abstract

In recent years, higher education quality enhancement discourses have increasingly focused on student-centred approaches, while the role of faculty well-being and a supportive professional environment is ofteen overshadowed.

However, the challenges of the modern university environment (e.g. isolation, increasing workloads, and performance pressure, etc.) highlight that the essential foundation of quality education is a mentally balanced, motivated educator.

In this context, collaborative professionalism and the conscious building of professional learning communities are of paramount importance. These networks are not only arenas for pedagogical and methodological renewal but also
protective environments with strong community retention power, which effeectively reduce professional isolation, increase faculty resilience, and systematically contribute to burnout prevention.

Our latest article captures this broader institutional development and community-building perspective and enriches it with a new approach based on personal experiences. Through the case study of the ELTE EdUFlow program, our authors demonstrate how a primarily digital teaching methodology training course can become an unexpected intervention supporting faculty well-being. The study analyzes in detail the protective
factors identifiaed and experienced during the programme like the formation of a supportive professional community, the consolidation of teaching identity, the establishment of interdisciplinary relationships, a more conscious effort to achieve a better worklife balance. We look forward to our readers' views and refleections on the strategic importance of faculty well-being and the questions raised.