Research In Higher Education: The Role Of Teaching And Student Learning

Abstract

Over the past 20 years, national processes for research-quality assessment have been introduced or amended across Europe. Whatever the benefits of these systems might have brought to the organisation and quality of research most of them have contributed for a devaluing teaching and to a growing separation between the research worlds of the university and student learning. This study aims to contribute to a broader understanding of the role of research for the quality of teaching and student learning and, through the collection of good practices and recommendations, argue for the integration of these indicators in research quality assessment tools and evaluation frameworks. The outcomes indicate the need to discuss the role of teaching, staff professional development, assessment criteria and the impact of research on graduate/ postgraduate student learning. Research assessment systems should value teaching and student learning through research and, at an institutional level, planning must support this link through the development of strategies based on a broader and context-driven conception of ‘scholarship’.