Growing separation between teaching/ learning and research anticipating the impacts from REF 2014.

Abstract

Most quality assessment systems are based on an explicit separation of teaching/learning and research; however, in spite of their having enhanced both the organisation and quality improvement of each of these fields, they have also been contributing to a widening of the gap between the two and to the devaluation of teaching.

The present study, developed in the UK, intends to provide some insights into the perceptions of former panel members, managers and academics, as they anticipate the impacts from REF 2014. Increasing pressure to achieve high-quality research has been leading institutions to hire the most prestigious researchers. Were there to be equivalent effort to achieve parity in the quality of teaching, this situation might be less worrying, for teaching does not currently enjoy the same investment; rather, its very inferiority is considered to have an even more negative impact on the development of new practices, as well as on student learning and support.