6: Conclusion

This book has begun to explore why, given the conceptual problems of ‘teaching excellence’, has it not only persisted, but also become ubiquitous, not only for describing ‘good’ activities and institutions, and hopeful aspirations, but also in terms of high-quality teaching in higher education. The rise of metrics in education generally gives one possible reason for the persistence of this trend, which the Teaching Excellence Framework will only serve to intensify. However, over the development of this trend we have forgotten to ask whether what we are measuring is telling us anything useful about the processes that lie at the core of teaching. As Biesta argues (2017):