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Establishing reward systems for excellence in teaching–the experience of academics pioneering a reward system

Førland, Oddfrid LU and Roxå, Torgny LU (2023) In European Journal of Higher Education
Abstract

Higher education institutions are struggling to elevate the value and status of academic teaching. In this endeavour, rewards for excellence in teaching are becoming a common measure. This study reports on the experience of the first academic teachers who were given the status as rewarded teachers in new reward systems. We explore rewarded teachers’ potential to influence teaching and learning culture through a socio-cultural perspective, where influence is assumed to materialise through teachers’ networks and cultural change is linked to a widening of significant networks. Interviews with 13 rewarded teachers from three universities were analysed using thematic analysis. We find that rewarded teachers maintain their positions in... (More)

Higher education institutions are struggling to elevate the value and status of academic teaching. In this endeavour, rewards for excellence in teaching are becoming a common measure. This study reports on the experience of the first academic teachers who were given the status as rewarded teachers in new reward systems. We explore rewarded teachers’ potential to influence teaching and learning culture through a socio-cultural perspective, where influence is assumed to materialise through teachers’ networks and cultural change is linked to a widening of significant networks. Interviews with 13 rewarded teachers from three universities were analysed using thematic analysis. We find that rewarded teachers maintain their positions in existing networks and gain visibility and influence in wider networks. This widening of their teaching and learning network is a first step, that over time can become a wider significant network potentially important in influencing culture. We suggest that a productive measure to support rewarded teachers is to provide support for expanding their significant networks further, bridging the boundaries between teaching cultures. This study adds to our knowledge about how reward impacts networks, and the potential role rewarded teachers play in cultural change, a perspective that is underexplored in research on reward systems.

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Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
in press
subject
keywords
Higher education, impact of reward systems, teaching and learning networks, teaching reward systems
in
European Journal of Higher Education
publisher
Taylor & Francis
external identifiers
  • scopus:85159876842
ISSN
2156-8235
DOI
10.1080/21568235.2023.2214713
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
60be5bb8-ae4a-4516-b7c4-d5c41b0dd2f5
date added to LUP
2023-09-15 15:00:07
date last changed
2023-09-15 15:00:07
@article{60be5bb8-ae4a-4516-b7c4-d5c41b0dd2f5,
  abstract     = {{<p>Higher education institutions are struggling to elevate the value and status of academic teaching. In this endeavour, rewards for excellence in teaching are becoming a common measure. This study reports on the experience of the first academic teachers who were given the status as rewarded teachers in new reward systems. We explore rewarded teachers’ potential to influence teaching and learning culture through a socio-cultural perspective, where influence is assumed to materialise through teachers’ networks and cultural change is linked to a widening of significant networks. Interviews with 13 rewarded teachers from three universities were analysed using thematic analysis. We find that rewarded teachers maintain their positions in existing networks and gain visibility and influence in wider networks. This widening of their teaching and learning network is a first step, that over time can become a wider significant network potentially important in influencing culture. We suggest that a productive measure to support rewarded teachers is to provide support for expanding their significant networks further, bridging the boundaries between teaching cultures. This study adds to our knowledge about how reward impacts networks, and the potential role rewarded teachers play in cultural change, a perspective that is underexplored in research on reward systems.</p>}},
  author       = {{Førland, Oddfrid and Roxå, Torgny}},
  issn         = {{2156-8235}},
  keywords     = {{Higher education; impact of reward systems; teaching and learning networks; teaching reward systems}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  publisher    = {{Taylor & Francis}},
  series       = {{European Journal of Higher Education}},
  title        = {{Establishing reward systems for excellence in teaching–the experience of academics pioneering a reward system}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/21568235.2023.2214713}},
  doi          = {{10.1080/21568235.2023.2214713}},
  year         = {{2023}},
}