A Handbook for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education Enhancing academic and Practice

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Enhancing personal practice
of means by which they can bring about a positive student experience has led many HEIs
inter alia to introduce a range of career paths to ensure that their most competent teachers
are identified, formally acknowledged and rewarded.
A PLATFORM FOR CAREER PROGRESSION
It is against the above background that career progression needs to be considered; thus
this chapter seeks to explore approaches that a number of higher education institutions
(HEIs) have adopted to acknowledge these trends and to better integrate learning and
teaching into career advancement once initial competence has been established. Its other
concern is to provide suggestions as to how individuals might extend their experiential
profile and develop a documentary evidence base to satisfy teaching-related promotion
criteria. Use of paper-based or e-portfolios (Brenton, 2003; Kimball, 2005) which strike a
balance between flexibility and structure, and institutional and individual needs, are
ideal for this purpose (Seldin, 1997; Baume and Yorke, 2002).
What follows might usefully be augmented with ideas found in the preceding chapter
as the two are complementary. In terms of its distinctive contribution, however, this
chapter is based on four key propositions:
1 That continuing professional development (CPD) for learning and teaching
(including supervision) can no longer be conceived as a voluntary, private activity for
academics; this function of their role is underpinned increasingly by contractual
requirements and the need for quality enhancement based in a nationally recognised
code of practice. In essence, the management of career-long teaching competence is
no longer an aspirational ideal but part of the organisational fabric of contemporary
university life (QAA, 2003, 2006).
2 That whatever the specifics of CPD (and irrespective of age, career status, subject
specialism or particular pedagogic expertise) it is increasingly necessary for
individuals to engage with activities which ensure they are competent to perform
both their current role (maintenance learning) and foreseeable future demands
(anticipatory learning) (Pennington and Smith, 2002: 254).
3 That while career routes which make it worthwhile for academics to pay particular
attention to learning and teaching have tended, hitherto, to be the preserve of post-
1992 HEIs (see Case study 1), this trend is spreading to all parts of the UK higher
education sector. Initiatives across all types of institution are accelerating the
establishment of well-defined career routes based on ‘teaching excellence’ comparable
to those for research excellence. A normative process is taking place that will be hard
to resist in the long term.
4 That individuals, if they are so minded, can prepare to meet the above challenges by
systematic engagement with a range of developmental activities which, when
aggregated, leave them better placed to seek career advancement on the basis of their
learning and teaching expertise. It is clear that if this process is started early and is