Dilemma, paradox and wicked problems: The profession
of teaching and academic development

This paper explores themes that emerged in a dialogic journal kept by a lecturer and a professional academic developer. The analysis is conducted in the light of Rowland's framework of dilemmas, De Wit and Meyer's idea of strategy as paradox, and Rittel's concept of 'wicked problems'. Themes from the journal are analysed as experiences of dilemmas, paradoxes and 'wicked problems' in order to illuminate the nature of the teaching process, to raise questions about the factors that impact on good teaching, and to emphasize the importance of the personal in teaching. It is suggested that it is the demands of ineluctable dilemmas and paradoxes that constitute teaching as a professional activity, and that this feature vitiates most broad-based assessment practices.