What is Reciprocity Norms

The digital revolution has had a profound impact on learning opportunities, but there is often ambivalence in the ways in which faculty and colleges embrace these opportunities. Attitudes and the cultural expectations of faculty lie at the heart of any successful strategic response to the digital revolution. This chapter examines cultural values that may limit responsiveness and suggests that a new cultural paradigm is needed among faculty members. This paradigm accentuates the notion of service and a relational commitment to learners. In education, a relational service culture recognizes the value and centrality of the learner and provides a pathway for the broader strategic alignment of the academy with the opportunities that are presented by the digital age. The chapter critically appraises the need for a relational service culture among faculty that might further and expand learner-centered pedagogies, and suggests how change might be initiated and supported.