SFS chairman Jacob Färnert writes a debate article in the Alting about the importance of higher education institutions taking higher education seriously and not compromising on the teaching skills of university and college teachers because it is an important aspect for education quality.
The performance-based resource allocation system and the state productivity deduction that exists in the university certainly leads to eroded funding and poorer conditions for teachers' pedagogical development, which ultimately leads to poorer quality. However, this does not mean that there is no change to be made at the university and teacher level. The educational institutions must stop ignoring the requirements for pedagogical skills when hiring and promoting as teachers. There also needs to be a greater collegial exchange to get a discussion going about what are good teaching methods and how we establish a culture where there is a commitment to education, its quality and pedagogy.
The country's universities and colleges must also be able to look at themselves in the mirror. It is time that higher education is taken seriously, not only by education ministers and politicians, but also by those who are ultimately responsible for it, i.e. the principals and teachers at the country's higher education institutions.
Read the full article at Altinget.se.