Faculty development in teaching and learning: the UK framework and current debates

Abstract

Following the publication of a recent report, commissioned by the Higher Education Academy and conducted by SEDA, this short paper considers the HEA UK Professional Standards Framework in the UK Higher Education Sector, in the context of recent and continuing debates about how best to support faculty professional development in teaching (and supporting learning).The need for a framework is briefly articulated, followed by a description of its main elements and a summary of recent evidence on its impact. A discussion of issues and (international) debates about the role of formal qualifications in delivering the kind of faculty development envisaged in the framework and aligned programmes is then presented. The paper concludes with some suggestions for research that arise from this review.

Retrospection and reflection: The emerging influence of an institutional professional recognition scheme on professional development and academic practice in a UK university

“…Previously, this learning was demonstrated via accredited taught programmes to stimulate the development of good practice in learning and teaching in HE, primarily aimed at new members of academic staff. Increasingly, colleagues from across the academic community, both new and experienced academics, are participating in institutional recognition schemes (Hibbert & Semler, 2015).…”

“…The structure of traditional taught programmes in learning and teaching is front loaded, and enables staff to develop their understanding and practice through exposure to theoretical underpinning and practical training, whereas recognition schemes promote a retrospective, reflective model of professional development, one whereby participants need to demonstrate that they reflect on and interrogate their practice, incorporate the dimensions of the UKPSF and evidence their experiential development of knowledge and competencies (cf. Hibbert & Semler, 2015;Pilkington, 2013;Thornton, 2014). Staff are required to evidence their engagement with CPD over time; they are not explicitly Perhaps more importantly is how reflectiveness is situated within the recognition schemes.…”

“…Although the funding for most of these initiatives has now ceased, the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) requires universities to include the number of staff 'qualified' to teach in HE in their annual submission of data. This is not something universities can ignore (Spowart, Turner, Shenton, & Kneale, 2015) and within this context, it is important to understand how the growing number of professional recognition schemes in UK universities is effectively contributing to the professional development of academics in relation to teaching and learning (Hibbert & Semler, 2015). This paper provides a case study of one institutional scheme to explore the impact on individuals' professional development.…”

New lecturers' journeys : the formation of 'the academic' in Higher Education

“…They have become an accepted part of a neo-liberal regulation of higher education, 'professionalization' of the academic as teacher, embedded in a discourse of excellence, without there being much evidence to indicate the benefits of participation for academics, and indeed with some evidence to the contrary. This research will seek to address this knowledge deficit, considering academic identities and practices, developed and developing in 'response to shifting contexts' (Stronach, 2010: 10), one result of which is increasingly mandatory participation in a 'teaching qualification' (Gosling, 2010;Hibbert & Semler, 2016). It is acknowledged that the research will take place in the 'illusion of the university' (Watson, 2011: 965) which masks "a large, inconsistent, bureaucratic institution, made up of and serving many communities, functions and interest groups and articulating quite different traditions" (Kerr, cited in Kavanagh, 2009: 254).…”

“…For the purpose of this discussion it is interpreted as "the proliferation of o je ti e sta da ds … the sp ead of … li e i g o e tifi atio " (Wilensky, 1964, p. 137) -thus the introduction of the UK Professional Standards Framework (Higher Education Academy, HE Guild, & Universities UK, 2011), and the frequently mandatory nature of obtaining Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA) in higher education today (Hibbert & Semler, 2016).…”