ABSTRACT
The debate on teaching and research in higher education tends to start from the viewpoint that they are separate activities, even if mutually dependent. One school of thought is that good teaching is enhanced by the conducting of research by the teachers, or at any rate in the institution. Another view is that in a research institution, teaching is inevitably seen as a less worthy activity. From this perspective, the best teaching would take place in dedicated institutions by dedicated teachers who see their mission as teaching. One view of the ‘binary divide’ which existed in higher education in the UK until recently was that universities had a mission to research, while polytechnics had a mission to teach. While differing views have been put forward as to the quality of teaching in the two types of institutions, there has been little challenge to the teaching/research dichotomy.
