https://doi.org/10.36866/pn.101.10

The Physiological Society at the Party Conferences

This autumn, The Physiological Society, together with think-tank Demos, held meetings at the Labour and Conservative Party conference fringes. The meetings, entitled ‘Higher Expectations: who cares about teaching in HE?’, each involved a panel discussion and Q&A session. Each panel included a member of The Physiological Society Education & Outreach Committee (Judy Harris at the Labour fringe and Blair Grubb at the Conservatives), along with Nick Hillman (Higher Education Policy Institute) and Duncan O’Leary (Demos). Wes Streeting MP took part at the Labour fringe, while John Gill (Times Higher Education) and Megan Dunn (NUS) spoke at the Conservative fringe.

There has been interest in addressing teaching in higher education for a long while. The ex-Science Minister David Willetts called it ‘unfinished business’, and now his successor Jo Johnson has declared a ‘renewed focus on teaching.’ The events centred around the forthcoming Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF), and the impact it will have on students and academics. The Society believes that good teaching should be more effectively and consistently recognised, with academics able to be promoted and advance their career through their commitment to and skills in teaching. Currently this is technically possible at many institutions, but a large majority of academics believe it rarely happens. The Physiological Society has recently released a booklet, Recognising Teachers in the Life Sciences, giving case studies of academics who have furthered their careers through teaching excellence.

There is widespread agreement that the TEF will have to be carefully considered before its introduction. It runs the risk of driving a wedge between research and teaching, forcing academics to specialise and ending a culture of ‘scholarship’ involving both research and teaching skills. There will be close scrutiny of the government’s Green Paper setting out its plans for the TEF.

Holding our breath for the CSR

By the time you read this, the government will have released the results of the Comprehensive Spending Review. Currently, however, the science sector is keeping its ear to the ground and worrying about possible outcomes. Organisations such as the Campaign for Science and Engineering, and Science is Vital, are working hard to project a unified message from the sector to the government, and The Physiological Society is doing its best to contribute. We will keep members up to date with efforts to ensure the science sector is valued and safeguarded.