108 Chapter 4 schools with a long-standing learning-centred curriculum. Selection took place on the recommendation of a sub-dean or senior educator from the respective medical schools. Four educators were involved in educational administration, and were, for example, responsible for curriculum innovations or professional development programmes. The other 17 participants were selected on the basis of their active and long-standing educational involvement and exemplary teaching, as witnessed by student evaluations and teaching awards. Each of the participants had at least twenty years of teaching experience, and most of them were responsible, or had been responsible, for curriculum content. Eight of the participants taught basic science topics; the other nine taught clinical topics. We chose these selection criteria because we expected that these faculty members would be ‘information-rich’ and that their experiences would be enlightening (critical case sampling). The first author invited the participants by e-mail or telephone and emphasised that participation was voluntary and anonymous. All invited faculty members agreed to participate. This study was approved by the Netherlands Association for Medical Education (NVMO) Ethical Review Board (NERB number 834). Procedures We used the interview guide of Ottenhoff-de Jonge et al.,4 designed to explore educators’ beliefs about teaching and learning, as well as their perspectives on being an educator (see Addendum 4.1: interview guide). A sample question related to beliefs about teaching and learning was: ‘Does your teaching influence student learning? If so, how?.’ The primary question related to educational identity and mission was: ‘What makes somebody a good teacher?,’ followed by the question on what might prevent them from being a good teacher. Due to our selection criterion of exemplary teaching, the participants identified with the notion of 'good teachers' and related these questions to themselves. By asking for examples from their own teaching practices, we further ensured that the participants elaborated on their own teaching experience. We asked them to consider the preclinical educational context during the interview, as in this setting, learningcentred education is most clearly designed and implemented. Because beliefs about teaching and learning may vary according to the level of teaching,24,25 we also wanted to avoid participants answering the questions with the clinical context in mind. Interviews took place between May and September 2018 and all were conducted by the first author. The interviews lasted on average 60 minutes and were audiotaped and transcribed.
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