The push for professional recognition – a double-edged sword?

Until recently in the UK, teaching in HE had not been recognised as a scholarly pursuit. Despite Boyer’s (1990) work on the four types of scholarship in HE, research has held all the cards in terms of recognition, academic credibility and promotion. With the advent of significant student fees and the current climate of greater accountability however, the tide is turning. (QAA 2013, Henard & Roseveare 2012) Teaching is beginning to be recognised as deeply important and worthy of research in its own right. There is now the requirement in a large number of universities that academics are able to demonstrate competence in teaching, as well as having the potential to develop a research portfolio. The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) has recently added to its list of information that universities must submit annually, the number of staff qualified to teach in HE. This information enters the public domain and becomes a factor taken into account by students when considering in which institution they would like to study. This is leading to a surge in interest in institutions to increase the number of staff with recognition for their experience and expertise in teaching so that they can be counted as qualified and the institution’s ratings against this metric are high. The purpose of this session is to explore with delegates: • The changing attitudes at both strategic and individual level towards the teaching and support of learning in HE • How institutions are responding to the requirement to increase the number of staff with recognition for their experience and expertise in teaching • What challenges are arising as a result for us as education developers This workshop explores the opportunities that a change in the status of teaching in universities affords to educational developers and the associated challenges. Participants will work in groups to explore issues raised by these changes with the aid of an interactive dialogue sheet. Discussions will be facilitated by the presentation team and findings from the discussions shared in a plenary.