A Swedish perspective on Pedagogical Competence

Abstract

Pedagogical competence – is it possible, obvious or simply unnecessary? How it is perceived depends on whom you ask. In many cases it is research that determines how a university is ranked in respect to quality and status. Proficient and committed teachers are, however, a necessity if institutions of higher education are to provide high-quality education. According to the Higher Education Ordinance institutions of higher learning may only employ teachers who are proficient both in their particular discipline and in pedagogy. Since pedagogical competence is not often defined and the Higher Education Appeals Board does not scrutinize the evaluation proceedings, both deficient documentation and some dubious evaluations can be found. In spite of this (or perhaps because of it?) those of us who work in Swedish universities and colleges can see that there is both a will and an ambition to develop teaching portfolios, evaluation criteria, and reward systems for pedagogical competence. This