Beyond Accreditation: Reflecting On Recognition Of Teaching Excellence In Higher Education

Jo Johnson, the UK Minister of State for Universities and Science has stated that excellent teaching is a 'key priority' for government and has committed to introducing a Teaching Excellence Framework. Currently, the UK Higher Education (HE) Academy provides a framework to recognise quality of teaching and learning and many UK HE institutions have already set targets for staff to achieve fellowship of the HE Academy as a recognised standard of teaching quality. The new government emphasis is likely to increase this pressure and place a stronger focus on the quality of teaching and learning in UK universities.This paper takes an insider research approach and reports on the reflections of two colleagues engaged in the support and assessment of professional recognition of teaching and learning at Leeds Beckett University. This approach is possibly best described as 'self-ethnography' (Alvesson 2003) utilising our position to research the situation we are in. Using a critical lens to explore the experiences of staff seeking fellowship, it identifies the perhaps unintended consequences of the accreditation process. The gains from creating space for colleagues to reflect on their teaching and evaluate their pedagogic practice have extended far beyond the formal accreditation they receive. Reflection and reflective practice are regarded by many as essential components of professional practice (see, for example, Bradbury et al. 2010) and this is a key feature of initial professional development for lecturers. The process of accreditation encourages a continuation of this by instilling reflection in continuous professional development; indeed it potentially goes further encouraging greater depth of reflection or reflexivity in relation to professional practice. Cunliffe (2003) suggests that whilst reflection is learning and developing through examining what we think happened on any occasion, reflexivity is finding strategies to question our own attitudes, thought processes, values and assumptions. Encouraging such reflexivity should therefore lead to positive outcomes in the quality of teaching and learning.Through examination of our experiences, together with feedback from colleagues, we share our insights and discuss strategies for harnessing and sharing the learning outcomes. The paper identifies implications / lessons learnt about the design of accreditation schemes in order to generate and sustain cross faculty working, inform teaching and learning strategy and share examples of innovative practice. Recommendations include the creation of communities of practice (Lave and Wenger, 1991) that are cross university and transcend disciplinary boundaries.The paper is aimed at anyone with an interest in the challenges of providing high quality education in HE.