Investigating the PDR process in a UK university: continuing professional development or performativity?

Abstract

Over recent years, the professional development review process has risen in importance in universities with such exercises being shown to have a positive effect on student learning, staff motivation, recruitment and retention. However, they may also be perceived as a controlling mechanism and part of a culture of 'performativity', which implies a lack of trust, an undermining of autonomy and a reliance on externally driven targets to 'manage' staff. However, there is very little published research in this area. This paper addresses this knowledge gap by drawing on data from a Leadership Foundation funded study in a UK University which included 30 interviews and a follow up survey (n=177) with both leaders and the staff they lead. The findings suggest that both leaders and staff felt that the process was potentially very important and could offer significant levels of guidance and support for professional development. However, they stressed the importance of a review structure which was adaptable, more professionally relevant, and less reliant on over ambitious target setting.

Online Learning in Modern Digital Era: A Distance Training Program for Greek Language Teachers

“…In recent years the need for long-term and well-organized educational programs has become more pressing than ever (Floyd, 2022). In this context, language teachers in bilingual/cross-cultural environments seek the establishment of an organized training policy (Cortina & Earl, 2020) in order to familiarize themselves with modern language teaching methods and enhance their teaching skills.…”

Fortalecimiento De Competencias Investigativas: Una Revisión Sistemática De Estrategias Utilizadas en La Educación Superior

“…Lo señalado anteriormente conlleva contribuir a la universalización de la educación permanente y de avanzada (Floyd, 2022;Li & Chu, 2022;Sung et al, 2022), fomentar la cultura y generar conocimiento para la sociedad (Bekele et al, 2022), además de brindar solución a las problemáticas sociales, dando prioridad a grupos más relegados a través de actividades colaborativas de los diferentes actores de la comunidad universitaria (Liddle & Addidle, 2022) y de otros entornos en procesos dinámicos, donde todos aprenden y se desenvuelven no como receptores sino como agentes de cambio (Arocena et al, 2015;Fernandes et al, 2022;Roncancio-Marin et al, 2022).…”