Internationally Continuing Professional Development (CPD) is common across a wide range of professions (Clegg, 2003) and has become a major research area (Becher, 2000; Eraut, 2000). Indeed there have even been attempts to harmonise and standardise CPD for various professions across international frontiers e.g. European dental schools’ programmes of CPD ‘DentCPD’ (walesdeanery.org). Yet in higher education in the UK and elsewhere staff development is still commonly considered a peripheral activity (Clegg, ibid: 38). This is ironic, as universities have long been primary providers of CPD opportunities for other organisations. There is, however, a recognition that academics have traditionally developed themselves professionally in a range of ways, both formal and informal, so CPD has been taking place but on a less ‘regulated’ basis than in many professions. (Ferman & Page, 2000).

For academics, where CPD has existed, historically it has been associated with development within the discipline, primarily research and scholarship. Little was formalised around teaching. CPD in universities was also conceptualised as ‘role-specific’, the CPD for academics, for example, seen as very ‘distinct from the development opportunities available to other staff (many of whom have significant roles in supporting student learning)’ (ibid: 38). More recently, however, the focus of higher education in the UK has moved to the credentialisation of all those teaching and supporting learning. Universities are encouraged to consider how to evidence that those teaching and supporting learning have the expertise to accomplish this effectively. The introduction in the UK of national professional standards (UKPSF) was one reform proposed in the 2003 DfES White Paper "The Future of Higher Education". This national framework has subsequently been identified as a development of interest for many working in different contexts, both European and further afield. In this document the government outlined plans to introduce new standards and ensure that new university teaching staff achieved a concomitant qualification. The ad hoc CPD of the past was beginning to be replaced by formalised developmental initiatives.

In response, universities across the UK are developing provision for professional recognition. This provision, although locally developed, maps to the UKPSF and fulfils criteria set by the Higher Education Academy, aiming thus for parity in quality of provision. This provides opportunities for acknowledging and celebrating faculty achievements in teaching and supporting learning. Increasingly evidence of this recognition is being employed in the UK as an indicator within recruitment and career progression requirements and within sector metrics and is being seen as a benchmark of faculty and institutional credibility.   But to what extent can the process of evidencing a claim for recognition enhance the quality of teaching and supporting learning?

Professional recognition is, of course, much more than an indicator, promoting cultural richness as well as strategic improvement (Fung 2014). The process itself requires the applicant to reflect on their teaching and learning philosophy and the underpinning theory determining their pedagogic approach. There is evidence to suggest benefits for colleagues, students and institutions from this reflectiveness (Thornton 2014; Cryan, 2014).

The key research questions considered here are:

• How can professional recognition enhance the quality of teaching and the support of learning in higher education?
• How do academics engage with, resist and experience engagement with professional recognition opportunities?
• How do academics understand and articulate their practice for the purposes of professional recognition?

Fung, D 2014 It’s all about ‘us’: Lessons learned from running an accredited CPD framework Educational Developments Issue 15.2 June 2014 Staff and Educational Development Association, London Thornton, T (2014): Professional recognition: promoting recognition through the Higher Education Academy in a UK higher education institution, Tertiary Education and Management, DOI Cryan, B, (2014) Students in dark on teaching credentials Times Higher No 2.141 5 March 2014 HEA (2011) UK Professional Standards Framework https://www.heacademy.ac.uk/professional-recognition/uk-professional-standards-framework-ukpsf http://www.walesdeanery.org/images/stories/Files/Documents/dental/cpd-across-europe/eu-dent-school-article.pdf