Reward or award? Reflections on the initial experiences of winners of a National Teaching Fellowship

This paper explores the impact on winners of achieving a National Teaching Fellowship. We begin by outlining the genisis and development of the award scheme and touch on the limited literature which is available in this area. Following a description of our methodology, we then present our data. Firstly we focus on who the winners are and then on gender differences, whether the award is a reward or a millstone, and finally the impact on the individual, the degree of institutional support for winners would appear to be a major determinant of whether the award was experiences as a reward or a penalty.