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…

It has been widely argued that journal metrics are used in assessing publication records on resumes for academic jobs and assessments. Within that debate, two important considerations emerge. Firstly, academics belonging to different career cohorts may have different experiences which are reflected in their recommendations related to targeting and…

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…

Mobile eye-tracking was used to investigate the link between teacher gaze and student-rated teacher interpersonal behaviour. Teacher gaze was recorded for 10 min during a teacher-centred part of a naturally occurring lesson. The "Questionnaire on Teacher Interaction" was then administered to assess how UK students evaluated their teacher…

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…

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…

Curricular implementations are unlikely to deliver the anticipated benefits for mathematics learners if written guidance to teachers is interpreted and enacted differently from the ways that policymakers and curriculum designers intend. One way in which this could happen is in relation to the mathematics tasks that teachers deploy in the…

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…

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…

In this article, I present some of the teaching and learning challenges faced from the perspective of a U.K. business school dean. There are many challenges that I could have chosen, but my focus is on the unpredictable external environment, the conundrum of teaching evaluation, developing teaching staff, and the curriculum issues we face.

On January 26, 2017, the National Academy of Engineering (NAE), with support from the National Science Foundation (NSF), held a workshop in Washington, DC, on the engagement of engineering societies in undergraduate engineering education. Since then, the NAE has held a series of follow-up regional workshops to investigate specific issues…

Bringing philosophical work on friendship to bear on the growing body of critique about the state of the neoliberal academy, this paper defends academic friendship. Initially a vignette illustrates the key features of academic friendship and the multiple demands on academics to account for themselves in the neoliberal university. We locate…

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…