scholarly journals Quality assurance policies and implementation in nursing and midwifery training colleges in Ghana

Author(s):  
Philip Anyelba Tankpara ◽  
Dickson Adom ◽  
Joe Adu-Agyem

<span lang="EN-US">The study assessed internal quality assurance (QA) systems in health training institutions in the Upper West Region. The study adopted the cross-section analytical design with a sample size of 272 (67 health tutors and 205 final year nursing students) using systematic and purposive sampling techniques. Data for the study were collected with a questionnaire and analyzed using SPSS and Stata. The study revealed that the majority (5 of 7) of nursing and midwifery colleges (NMTCs) in the Upper West Region have no quality assurance policy available, 65.7% of tutors indicated their institutions had quality assurance units/committees however these committees are inactive the total level of QA practices/implementation rate was low among colleges in the region. The study also revealed a lack of participatory governance and the existence of a poor communication system between staff and heads. The study contended that there is a need for heads (principals) of NMTCs in the Upper West region in Ghana should ensure the formation and functioning of QA units in their various institutions. These units should be empowered and allowed by heads to function as per recommendations by the regulatory bodies to support and to ensure quality training of nurses and midwives.</span>

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (10) ◽  
pp. 68
Author(s):  
Harry Barton Essel ◽  
Michael Boakye-Yiadom ◽  
Shamsudeen Mohammed

In the era of quality orientation, human rights, and a consumer-driven society, Nursing and Midwifery Education Institutions (NMEI) are expected to produce qualified graduates who will meet the needs and expectations of society. The aim of the study was to assess the internal quality assurance practices of Nursing and Midwifery Training Colleges (NMTCs) in the Northern Region of Ghana. An analytical cross-sectional design was adopted for the study with a sample size of eighty-eight (88). Purposive sampling method was used to select health tutors (participants) from three NMTCs in the Northern Region of Ghana. Data for the study were collected with a questionnaire and analysed. The study revealed that the NMTCs have quality assurance units/committees responsible for monitoring the quality of teaching and learning. In this study, only 39.8% of the health tutors were satisfied with the monitoring and inspection of training institutions by regulatory bodies. The results show a significant difference among the perspectives of the health tutors on the implementation of staff professional development (F(2, 87) = 4.74, p = .011), academic staffs motivation in the direction of refining the value of academic programs (F(2, 87) = 3.43, p = .037), working conditions of staffs (F(2, 87) = 3.32, p = .041) and the effectiveness of quality assurance systems in enhancing the quality of teaching and assessment (F(2, 87) = 3.27, p = .043). There is the need to ensure uniformity in staff professional development, working conditions, and motivation of health tutors in the training institutions. Regulatory bodies must intensify the monitoring of NMTCs and offer accreditation to new NMTCs based on the state of educational resources and facilities.


Author(s):  
Francis Ansah

The traditional tension between external and internal quality assurance implementation in higher education appears to be declining, based on a rethinking of the relationship between the two concepts. Although there are quality assurance agencies that still consider external and internal quality assurance as separate entities, most quality assurance agencies now regard the two concepts as complementary. In this paper, a case is put that the present rethinking of external and internal quality assurance in most higher education settings is guided by pragmatism, but not explicitly acknowledged in the literature. For a better appreciation of pragmatists’ influence on the current understanding of the relationship between external and internal quality assurance in higher education, this paper provides a further pragmatist conceptualisation of the two concepts to enhance stakeholders’ appreciation of employing a pragmatist approach to quality assurance practices in higher education. The conceptualisation is done through a pragmatist analysis of selected international accounts on higher education quality assurance. The paper concludes that pragmatism helps to understand external and internal quality assurance as nested concepts with reciprocities of accountability and improvement roles, and influences which call for alignment of perspectives through negotiations and settlements in order to focus on their practical relevance for implementation in higher education. La tension traditionnelle entre l’implémentation de systèmes d’assurance qualité interne et externe dans l’enseignement supérieur semble s’affaiblir grâce à la reconsidération de la relation entre ces deux concepts. Bien qu’il existe des agences d’assurance qualité qui continuent à considérer les assurances qualité interne et externe comme deux entités distinctes, la plupart des agences considèrent désormais qu’elles sont complémentaires. Cet article soutient que la nouvelle manière de penser les assurances qualité interne et externe dans l’enseignement supérieur est guidée par un souci de pragmatisme mais est encore peu reconnue dans la littérature. Pour mieux apprécier l’influence des pragmatistes sur la compréhension actuelle de la relation entre les assurances qualité interne et externe, cet article offre une conceptualisation pragmatique approfondie de ces deux concepts dans le but d’augmenter l’appréciation des parties prenantes pour l’utilisation d’une telle approche. La conceptualisation proposée provient d’une analyse pragmatique d’un choix d’expériences internationales en matière d’assurance qualité pour l’enseignement supérieur. En conclusion, cet article affirme que le pragmatisme aide à comprendre les assurances qualité interne et externe comme des concepts imbriqués qui ont des rôles réciproques en ce qui concerne la responsabilisation du système et son amélioration. Ces rôles ainsi que l’influence exercée par ces deux types d’assurance qualité requièrent des négociations et accords, pour s’accorder sur les perspectives et pouvoir ensuite se concentrer pleinement sur la pertinence pratique de leur implémentation dans les systèmes d’enseignement supérieur. 


Author(s):  
Nelson Casimiro Zavale ◽  
Luisa Alcantra Santos ◽  
Maria Da Conceição Dias

Founded in 1962, Eduardo Mondlane University (UEM), Mozambique’s largest and most prestigious university, established an Internal Quality Assurance (IQA) system for the first time in 2013. Based on UEM’s case, this paper examines the features and challenges faced when implementing an IQA system within African higher education institutions. Literature on higher education quality assurance has widely examined the features of, and challenges faced by national QA systems, or by a QA system established across several higher education institutions (HEIs). However, this literature has rarely targeted single HEIs, particularly (African) HEIs that are establishing, for the first time, their IQA systems. Besides, even when IQA at a single HEI is targeted, this is often done by outsiders. Based on reflection-in-action and reflection-on-action, this paper addresses the perspectives of both insiders and outsiders. The authors analyse a system that they have been involved in establishing. The paper’s findings enable to conclude that the main challenges of implementing an IQA system in an African HEI are associated with linking QA to decision-making and to a funding strategy; training human resources and allocating funds for the system to operate and to be sustainable; enabling the system to be assimilated by the university community; and defining measurable and objective quality standards to enable unbiased performance classification. Fondée en 1962, l’Université Eduardo Mondlane (UEM), la plus grande et la plus prestigieuse université du Mozambique, a créé pour la première fois en 2013 un système interne d’assurance qualité (IAQ). A partir de l’étude du cas de l’UEM, cet article examine les caractéristiques et les défis qui attendent les institutions d’enseignement supérieur africaines qui désirent implémenter un IAQ. La littérature sur l’assurance qualité de l’enseignement supérieur a largement examiné les caractéristiques des systèmes nationaux d’AQ (ou de systèmes communs à plusieurs institutions), et les défis auxquels ils sont confrontés. Elle s ‘est cependant rarement concentrée sur des cas uniques d’institutions, notamment des institutions (africaines) qui ont créé pour la première fois leur propre IAQ. Par ailleurs, même quand elle s’attarde sur une institution en particulier, l’analyse est souvent effectuée par des personnes étrangères à l’institution. Fondé sur la réflexion dans l’action et la réflexion sur l’action, cet article présente les perspectives de personnes internes et étrangères à l’établissement. Il permet de conclure que les principaux défis à affronter lors de l’établissement d’un IAQ sont dus à la difficulté de lier l’AQ à la prise de décision et à une stratégie de financement ; à la formation des ressources humaines et l’allocation des fonds nécessaires pour que le système fonctionne et perdure ; à l’assimilation du système par la communauté universitaire ; et à la définition de standards de qualité mesurables et objectifs pour permettre une classification de la performance impartiale. 


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