What type of study is this?

This is a Observational study (also classified as: Literature Review).

August 16, 2025Open Access

Redefining the (academic) author: investigating the Research Excellence Framework and teacher education research

Key Points

The analysis indicated that only 5.5% of submissions focused on initial teacher education in REF2014, remaining nearly unchanged at 5.7% for REF2021.
Higher education institutions involved in the analysis showed minimal representation of teacher education research across two REF cycles.
The method included a novel sampling and analytic approach to evaluate outputs submitted by UK institutions during REF assessment periods.
These findings highlight a need for increased focus on research informing practice in the teaching profession.

Abstract

This short communication presents the preliminary outcomes of an ongoing project exploring how initial teacher education research features in the UK's 5–7 yearly national research assessment exercise, Research Excellence Framework (REF). Most recently, REF has reported in 2014 and 2021. Using a novel sampling method and analytic approach, we found that for REF2014, just 5.5% of outputs submitted by our sample of higher education institutions (HEIs) had a focus on initial teacher education (pre-service). A similar analysis of the same sample of HEIs for the REF2021 showed that, at 5.7%, this proportion was virtually unchanged. The consequences of this for a research-informed profession are discussed.

Redefining the (academic) author: investigating the Research Excellence Framework and teacher education research

Key Points

Abstract

Cite This Study

Also Consider

Also Consider