There have always been discipline based academics whose passion has been education rather than research.  The contribution and commitment of these faculty, while often valued within their own department, has largely gone unrecognised at an institutional level in absence of clear guidelines and a national policy.  However, this is slowly changing.  More and more institutions now have teaching/education focused academics  engaging in scholarship, accessing professional development opportunities and with career progression akin to those with traditional teaching and research work portfolios.