Various features of teacher instruction underpin the criteria used for the evaluation of teacher quality. The current study sought to explore whether nativeness/non-nativeness affects the criteria teachers consider for teacher quality evaluation. To this end, the participants were provided with five video clips of teaching, each presenting a…

In some institutions of higher learning, one of the approaches to successful governance is through student assessment of teachers, dubbed Student Assessment of Faculty or Student Evaluation of Teaching and extensively used in the United States of America (USA). In schools and colleges, the usual largest bloc and primary stakeholders are the…

This conceptual paper discusses 'unseen observation' as an alternative model of classroom observation to support teachers' professional learning. The paper starts with a critical synopsis of how observation has been appropriated principally as a performance management tool for monitoring teacher effectiveness in the UK. It argues that the…

Despite previous research claiming surveillance emerges from student evaluations of teaching (SET), there is an absence of research using surveillance theory to determine whether it emerges, the nature of the surveillance should it emerge, and how academics resist its effects. Through an analysis of four university business schools, a top-down…

In this paper, we look at the results from the recent Teaching Excellence Framework (2017), which were made publicly available in June 2017. We offer some initial analysis and commentary, look at the primary reasons for providers being awarded Bronze, Silver and Gold, and look at some providers close to the borderline for their award. We…

Drawing on recent research involving approximately 6000 higher education staff, this paper examines the impact of the Teaching Excellence and Student Outcomes Framework (TEF) on their professional lives since its launch in 2016. Our findings raise fundamental concerns, methodologically and conceptually, about the fitness for the purpose of the TEF…

The creation of the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) represents a significant development concerning the teaching mission of the university in the UK. This paper considers the background to, and the development of, the TEF. It explains the context from which the TEF emerged and unpacks a series of rationales which illustrate the need for, and…

The question of how academics in higher education institutions demonstrate they have the ability to teach and provide a high quality learning experience challenges the sector. Within this context, the use of professional dialogue for recognising teaching expertise is growing. This qualitative research explored how 16 academics valued their…

Different conceptualizations exist about the components of the knowledge teachers need to teach mathematics with professional consciousness, and a researcher needs to describe and assess that knowledge. The fact, however, is that different conceptualizations respond to different needs, and thus, the variety is even a chance to develop the field…

European institutions of higher education have increasingly sought to improve the accountability and transparency of teaching and research with formal procedures and performance criteria. In a longitudinal analysis conducted in faculties of social sciences and economics at universities in the Netherlands, Sweden and the United Kingdom, we examined…

Quantitative student evaluations of teaching (SET) and assessments are widely used in higher education as a proxy for teaching quality. However, SET are a function of individual rating behaviours resulting from student background, knowledge and personalities, as well as the learning experience being rated. SET from three years of data from a…

The Office for Standards in Education's most recently published criteria for "outstanding" teaching are scrutinised and found wanting. They are seen as unrealistic for teachers to meet and equally unrealistic as criteria for use by inspectors. An explanation is offered as to why they are framed as they are and an alternative, more…

Since 2006 (with the exception of 2013), the "Student Academic Experience Survey" has been designed and developed in partnership between the Higher Education Policy Institute and the Higher Education Academy (HEPI-HEA). The Survey has become one of the major surveys within the UK higher education landscape, providing insight into how…

Research on international students in British higher education points to marginalization of their unique perspectives in university classrooms. The aim of the article is to consider how the most recent policy changes, particularly the teaching excellence framework (TEF), continue to do so. The article also argues that the TEF, being a major higher…

This paper reviews issues about quality including the United Kingdom government's statements (White Papers of 2011 and 2016) and the development of audits. Institutional educational policies could provide the basis for quality enhancement centred around the White Papers. The development of a 'quality framework' or schema for the production of…