The Politics of Excellence: concepts of teaching and the purpose of knowledge. How deskilling can the skills discourse be?

Engaging with politics or learning implies an engagement with the politics of teaching. This presentation will explore and critically engage with some aspects highlighted in a recent report looking at excellence in teaching in the Social Sciences and Humanities which I was involved in and how (re)conceptions of teaching need to come to the fore if we want to engage with high quality and in-depth engagement with knowledge.

Although the report looked at undergraduate and postgraduate taught programmes this paper will also consider how some of its conclusions impact doctoral education, as the skills discourse is transversal and impacts the whole student community.

The report was based on case studies of examples of excellence in teaching in a variety of UK universities. Definitions of excellence varied from institutional and organisational ones to those arising from student organisations. Interviews were held with individual lecturers but also with key higher education stakeholders in the UK from learned societies to employers.

The main purpose of the project was to identify what constitutes excellence. This current presentation will ultimately consider what balance, if any, can be achieved between conceiving degrees as routes to the labour market or as a preparation for critical and active citizens.

Keywords: knowledge, excellence, purpose