In the discussion of teaching vs learning which followed my original post on TEF thoughts, I’m now wondering if that had the effect of taking our collective eye off the TEF vs REF point which I think is equally important.
On the latter I have permission from Jenkins and Healey to quote from the draft of a chapter which is due out shortly, which I think is crucial. It relates to the forum set up by Roger Brown back in 2006 to look at the teaching-research nexus in the run up to the revised RAE (i.e. the REF).
“In the UK, as elsewhere, internationally research funding to universities is now highly selective and focused on international level research, in part because in a market environment high level research is increasingly seen as important to economic growth. But even in this context one can ask how this research benefits undergraduate students’ learning (Gibbs, 2014). Otherwise why focus research funding to universities? Members of the Forum saw the decisions in 2006-2007 to reshape the Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) to, in part, focus on research dissemination as an opportunity to intervene. Again Roger Brown’s knowledge and contacts resulted in a meeting, this time with David Sweeney, then Director of Research for HEFCE, and centrally responsible for designing the revised research funding framework. The submitted paper argued that the Research and Teaching Forum:
recognises that dissemination is a longstanding weakness of UK research. Given that a high proportion of UK research will continue to take place in universities, the group believes that the impact on student learning should be a major criterion in future assessments (Research and Teaching Forum, 2006).
Although the atmosphere at the meeting was very supportive, the final decision, was to exclude the impact of research on teaching.” (Jenkins and Healey, forthcoming)
10 years on, are we in danger of letting this slip off the radar again, once with REF now with TEF???
If you wish to comment on Alan and Mick’s piece, please go ahead, but if you wish to quote from it could you wait until it is published – when it will have been final copyedited and have a page number.
It will be appearing shortly as `Reshaping understandings, practices and policies to enhance teaching and research linkages’ in: ‘Dimensions of Marketization in Higher Education’ (Routledge) edited by P. John and J. Fanghanel,
Best
John
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