The Standards Paradox: How Quality Assurance Regimes Can Subvert Teaching and Learning in Higher Education

Autor/inn/en	Brady, Norman; Bates, Agnieszka
Titel	The Standards Paradox: How Quality Assurance Regimes Can Subvert Teaching and Learning in Higher Education
Quelle	In: European Educational Research Journal, 15 (2016) 2, S.155-174 (20 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1474-9041
DOI	10.1177/1474904115617484
Schlagwörter	Foreign Countries; Quality Assurance; Higher Education; Accountability; Efficiency; Case Studies; Business Schools; College Faculty; Curriculum Development; College Curriculum; Undergraduate Study; College Instruction; Academic Standards; Teacher Attitudes; Alienation; Professional Isolation; Guidelines; Semi Structured Interviews; United Kingdom (England) + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Ausland; Qualitätssicherung; Hochschulbildung; Hochschulsystem; Hochschulwesen; Verantwortung; Effectiveness; Effektivität; Wirkungsgrad; Case study; Fallstudie; Case Study; Fakultät; Curriculum; Development; Curriculumentwicklung; Lehrplan; Entwicklung; Grundstudium; Hochschullehre; Lehrerverhalten; Entfremdung; Richtlinien
Abstract	The quest continues to standardise quality assurance systems throughout the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) under the auspices of the Bologna Process and led by the European Network for Quality Assurance (ENQA). Mirroring its member organisation in England, the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA), ENQA identifies, as one of its core aims, the development of quality assurance processes as instruments for both "accountability" and "enhancement". However, the recent history of QAA appears to indicate that the balance between these core aims has been lost and the discourse of accountability and efficiency prevails. This paper presents a case study of a Business Faculty (BF) in a post-1992 English university based on interviews with academics and documentary data. Findings suggest that the BF's Quality Assurance Unit affirms the primacy of accountability and efficiency, resulting in, paradoxically, a distortion of academic professional practice. For example, undergraduate curriculum development is narrowly framed as an "administrative process" from which most academics feel "dissociated" and approaches to teaching appear to lack coherent organising principles beyond standardised learning outcomes expressed as "skills". The paper concludes by briefly considering the implications of the case study findings for the future direction of ENQA Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance. (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: http://sagepub.com
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2020/1/01