Learning Standards and the Assessment of Quality in Higher Education: Contested Policy Trajectories
Learning Standards and the Assessment of Quality in Higher Education: Contested Policy Trajectories

Author: Jon Yorke

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2016-07-13

Total Pages: 296

ISBN-13: 3319329243

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This book analyses accountability and quality policies relating to learning standards and examines their implications for assessment in higher education. Whilst primarily focusing on the Australian setting, this analysis is located within a broader frame of reference that includes the United Kingdom (UK), the United States of America (US), and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Across these settings, comparative measures of learning have been seen as a policy ‘solution’ to the problem of ‘proving quality’ in a globalised and increasingly competitive higher education market. Comparative measures of learning depend on the specification of learning standards. Learning standards attempt to articulate the capabilities expected of graduates, and students’ achievement of these is determined through the practices of assessment carried out within institutions. Quality policy, learning standards and assessment practices all intersect within the broader umbrella of accountability, with relevance to governments, higher education providers, employers, parents, and students. The findings reported in this book highlight a number of policy influences, including the rising demands for national and international comparative data on learning standards to compare quality and inform student choice in a globally competitive market.

Quality Assessment and Enhancement in Higher Education in Africa
Quality Assessment and Enhancement in Higher Education in Africa

Author: Peter Neema-Abooki

Publisher: Taylor & Francis

Published: 2022-12-16

Total Pages: 249

ISBN-13: 100063700X

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This book explores quality assessment and enhancement in higher education in Africa to illustrate the need to develop quality practices in measuring effective education and continually search for permanent improvement. The book demonstrates that technological and socio-economic trends, innovations, and inventions of the twenty-first century demand that additional attention be placed upon education for national, regional, and international development. Since conventions for quality assessment and enhancement need to be defined and systematic structures constructed to develop quality practices, the book shows how quality in higher education within Africa has been established and advanced to provide a framework for monitoring, auditing, and reviewing assessment and enhancement. Though the book considers African complexities and diversity, it incorporates global trends and utilises an international focus that enables readers to devise appropriate strategies for developing and enhancing quality and standards in higher education in both continental Africa and beyond. Illustrating why quality assessment and enhancement should be embraced in all aspects including inputs, processes, outputs and outcomes in educational settings globally, this book will be of interest to policymakers and scholars in the fields of Higher Education, Quality and Global Studies, African Education, African Studies and Management and Administration, Leadership and Professional Development Studies.

Quality Control and Quality Assurance
Quality Control and Quality Assurance

Author:

Publisher: BoD – Books on Demand

Published: 2024-05-29

Total Pages: 312

ISBN-13: 0850140242

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In any engineering field (including manufacturing, construction, transportation, aerospace, food and agriculture, oil and gas, etc.), ensuring product quality is fundamental to achieving success. Quality assurance (QA) and quality control (QC) are integral components of managing quality. According to the American Society for Quality (ASQ), QA is defined as the part of quality management that focuses on instilling confidence in meeting quality requirements, while QC is concerned with fulfilling those requirements. QA instills confidence internally within the engineering organization’s management and externally with customers, government agencies, regulators, certifiers, and other stakeholders. QA primarily examines how processes are carried out or how products are made, while QC concentrates on product inspection. When QA and QC collaborate effectively, organizational efficiency is enhanced, resulting in superior products. Quality Control and Quality Assurance - Techniques and Applications explores various aspects of quality, including quality planning, QC, QA, and quality enhancement. It covers topics related to QA such as total quality management (TQM), failure testing, process and product quality assurance (PPQA), and statistical process control (SPC). QC includes chapters describing process control, control charts, acceptance sampling, and product quality assessment. For meaningful and easy traceability, the chapters are divided into four sections: “Basics of QA/QC”; “Applications of QA/QC in Industry”; “Applications of QA/QC in Healthcare”; and “Applications of QA/QC in Education”. Covering the latest practices, techniques, and applications in QC and QA, this book is a valuable resource for engineering and business students, practicing engineers, engineering managers, and third-party agencies.

Higher Education Design
Higher Education Design

Author: Hamish Coates

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2020-12-01

Total Pages: 190

ISBN-13: 9811592160

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This book advances new views on higher education design, steps beyond prevailing problems and perspectives, and stimulates broader contributions. The 2020 pandemic has shocked already fragile business and academic models, and the time is ripe for innovating global online education, shifting towards Asia and lifelong learning, and investing in 21st century institutions and partnerships. Rather than dwell on dystopian discontents, the book charts narratives for developing the industry and the field. It is written for commercial, governmental and collegial communities to inject major research-driven insights into contemporary transformations and research.

Responsibility of Higher Education Systems
Responsibility of Higher Education Systems

Author:

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2020-06-29

Total Pages: 285

ISBN-13: 9004436553

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The evolving societal, political and economic landscape has led to increased demands on higher education institutions to make their contribution and benefits to society more visible, and in many cases with fewer public resources. This book contributes to the understanding of the responsibilities of Higher Education and the challenges posed to the production and circulation of knowledge. It raises questions about the role of higher education in society, its responsibility towards students and staff, and regarding its intended impact. The book brings together a range of topical papers, and a diversity of perspectives: scientific investigations of reputed scholars, critical evidence-based papers of third space professionals, and policymakers’ perspectives on the daily practice and management of higher education institutions and systems. The variety of both content and contributors elevates the richness of the book and its relevance for a large audience. Contributors are: Victor M. H. Borden, Lex Borghans, Bruno Broucker, Hamish Coates, Gwilym Croucher, Lisa Davidson, Mark Engberg, Philipp Friedrich, Martina Gaisch, Solomon Gebreyohans Gebru, Ton Kallenberg, Kathi A. Ketcheson, Lu Liu, Alfredo Marra, Clare Milsom, Kenneth Moore, Roberto Moscati, Marjolein Muskens, Daniela Nömeyer, Attila Pausits, Svetlana Shenderova, Wafa Singh, Chuanyi Wang, Denyse Webbstock, Gregory Wolniak, and Jiale Yang. See inside the book.

Academic Standards in Higher Education
Academic Standards in Higher Education

Author: Nicola Reimann

Publisher: Taylor & Francis

Published: 2024-08-15

Total Pages: 227

ISBN-13: 1040108105

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Academic standards in higher education are important but largely misunderstood. This book examines the notion of academic standards, explaining what they are and why they are important, and identifying the many myths that surround them. Based on the lessons learnt from the UK-wide Degree Standards Project, which developed, piloted and evaluated a professional development course on degree standards aimed at external examiners, the book offers practical suggestions for ways in which higher education staff can develop a more sophisticated understanding of standards. It discusses the implications of rethinking academic standards for higher education policy and practice, through examples and case studies derived from research evidence, the Degree Standards Project and contributors’ own experience and expertise. As a broader approach to assessment literacy, this volume aims to develop readers’ standards literacy by challenging routine practices and proposing promising alternatives. Written with a diverse readership in mind, this book is relevant to discipline-based academics, quality officers, academic developers, university leaders and managers, as well as policy makers.

Research Anthology on Preparing School Administrators to Lead Quality Education Programs
Research Anthology on Preparing School Administrators to Lead Quality Education Programs

Author: Management Association, Information Resources

Publisher: IGI Global

Published: 2020-07-24

Total Pages: 1829

ISBN-13: 1799834395

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The delivery of quality education to students relies heavily on the actions of an institution’s administrative staff. Effective leadership strategies allow for the continued progress of modern educational initiatives. It is crucial to investigate how effective administrators lead their organizations in challenging and difficult times and promote the accomplishments of their organization. Research Anthology on Preparing School Administrators to Lead Quality Education Programs is a vital reference source that offers theoretical and pedagogical research concerning the management of educational systems on both the national and international scale. It also explores academic administration as well as administrative effectiveness in achieving organizational goals. Highlighting a range of topics such as strategic planning, human resources, and school culture, this multi-volume book is ideally designed for educators, administrators, principals, superintendents, board members, researchers, academicians, policymakers, and students.

Analysing Policy
Analysing Policy

Author: Carol Bacchi

Publisher: Pearson Higher Education AU

Published: 2009-06-10

Total Pages: 321

ISBN-13: 1486022367

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This book offers a novel approach to thinking about public policy and a distinctive methodology for analysing policy. It introduces a set of six questions that probe how ‘problems’ are represented in policies, followed by an injunction to apply the questions to one’s own policy proposals. This form of analysis, it suggests, is crucial to understanding how policy works, how we are governed, and how the practice of policy-making implicitly constitutes us as subjects. The book mounts a challenge to the problem-solving paradigm currently dominating the intellectual and policy landscape, a paradigm manifest in ‘evidence-based policy’. Arguing that such a paradigm denies the shaping that goes on in the process of problematisation, it offers a ‘what’s the problem represented to be?’ approach to policy analysis as a counter-discourse. In this view critical thinking involves putting ‘problems’ into question rather than learning how to ‘solve’ them. Bacchi’s approach to policy analysis offers exciting insights in a wide array of policy areas, including welfare, drugs/alcohol and gambling, criminal justice, health, education, immigration and population, media and research policy. Invaluable to those involved in policy studies and public administration, it will also appeal to students and academics in sociology, social work, anthropology, cultural studies and human geography.