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.

KEYWORDS:

• Academic leaders
• professional development review
• higher education
• academic staff
• performativity

Acknowledgments

The research on which this article is based was funded by the Leadership Foundation for Higher Education and undertaken with Professor Dilly Fung. I gratefully acknowledge their support. Interpretations and errors remain my own.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by a grant from The Leadership Foundation for Higher Education (UK).