ABSTRACT
In this chapter the notion of excellence is explored with reference to the policy context from which it emerged, and conceptually problematized through a sociocultural theoretical lens. Alongside other contributions to this book, this chapter interrogates current understandings of excellence and questions its usefulness in moving practices forward. It poses basic questions about excellence which are intimately linked with conceptions of teaching and learning – ‘whose excellence?’, ‘excellence in what?’ and ‘excellence for what?’ It proposes that examining excellence with reference to the context of practice highlights it as a relative value, and as an inadequate tool for enhancing teaching and learning practices in higher education (HE). First though, this chapter explores the ways in which excellence is conceptualized in higher education today, scrutinizes the outcomes of enhancement policies through a recent formal evaluation (CHEMS, 2005), and examines what can be learnt from looking at excellence through a socio-cultural framework.
