The Inter-Jurisdictional Language of Quality Assurance: Comparing Theory and Practice

This is a comparative study of two reports on the assurance of quality in higher education that appeared contemporaneously in two similar and closely connected jurisdictions. Using NVivo summative content analysis software, documentary analysis, archival records, WTO submissions, and focus groups and interviews the paper identifies and compares several recurring areas in which nomenclature is at least nominally mutual, such as: the boundary line between academic support services and student services, balancing commonality and diversity, the institution versus the basic academic unit as the focus and scope of assurance, self-regulation versus system regulation, the assurance of quality versus the enhancement of quality, the role of league ranking, performance indicators, and benchmarking, aggregation. Seen in terms of theory-driven evaluation, the study suggests that finding a trans-jurisdictional common ground for quality assurance is more advanced in theory than in practice.

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The Importance of Taking Risks: A Report on the Conference

Cultural-Historical Psychology ◽

10.17759/chp.2016120111 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 12 (1) ◽

pp. 102-105

Author(s):

I.A. Kotliar ◽

M.V. Sokolova ◽

E.G. Sheina

Keyword(s):

Risk Assessment ◽

Health Care Professionals ◽

Self Regulation ◽

Theory And Practice ◽

Children's Play ◽

Children’S Play ◽

Prevention Programmes ◽

Western Theory ◽

Pedagogical Analysis

The paper gives an overview of the 14th interdisciplinary conference The Importance of Taking Risks held by the Welsh branch of the International Play Association. The meeting focused on various aspects of supporting children’s play and on the role of risk in child development. The conference had a clear multidis- ciplinary character and brought together specialists from a variety of fields: psychologists, teachers, social workers, experts in risk assessment, and health care professionals. The paper outlines how risk is understood in modern western theory and practice and distinguishes between risk and danger. A child must be taught to assess situations as safe or dangerous. However, modern developmental environment tends to reduce the possibility of risks for the child, which deprives him/her of the natural means of learning about the world and reduces creativity and independence and holds back the child’s self-regulation, prolonging compelled dependence and making children more infantile. The conference also involved discussions concerning tech- niques for risk assessment and a number of prevention programmes and practices. This work was supported by the Russian Foundation for Humanities (project No 15-06-10627 “Psychological and pedagogical analysis of children’s play environment of the modern city”).

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The Global Dimension of Quality Assurance in Higher Education

International Journal of Technology and Educational Marketing ◽

10.4018/ijtem.2013010102 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 3 (1) ◽

pp. 15-27 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Gerardo Blanco Ramírez

Keyword(s):

Higher Education ◽

Quality Assurance ◽

Management Practice ◽

Self Regulation ◽

Global Dimension ◽

External Pressures ◽

Global University ◽

Institutional Agency ◽

Quality In Higher Education ◽

University Leaders

Quality assurance in higher education has become an endeavor of global proportions. Leaders within institutions of higher education are required to make choices about what quality assurance and self-regulation mechanisms to implement and how to respond to external pressures in an environment of increased accountability and competition. University leaders also need to make choices about what standards of quality their institutions will follow. This paper outlines the changing environment of international quality assurance and its implications for management practice and further research. Critical engagements with quality assurance are necessary in order to make decisions that are not only effective but also consistent with the institutional mission and the purposes of higher education. While quality in higher education becomes global, university leaders encounter new opportunities to exercise institutional agency.

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Autonomy in language teaching and learning

Language Teaching ◽

10.1017/s0261444806003958 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 40 (1) ◽

pp. 21-40 ◽

Cited By ~ 192

Author(s):

Phil Benson

Keyword(s):

20Th Century ◽

Teacher Development ◽

Teaching And Learning ◽

Recent Literature ◽

Language Teaching ◽

Self Regulation ◽

Theory And Practice ◽

Future Research ◽

Language Teaching And Learning

There has been a remarkable growth of interest in the theory and practice of autonomy in language teaching and learning in recent years. Focusing on work published since the turn of the 20th century, this review examines major trends in the recent literature on autonomy related to the emergence of alternative views of autonomy, new contexts of practice and interaction with concepts such as self-regulation, motivation, sociocultural theory and teacher development. The review also covers relevant developments in the philosophy of autonomy and the role of autonomy in global educational policy and reform. It concludes by discussing possible directions for future research in the field.

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The Role of Incubators in the Internationalization Process of Incubated SMEs: A Perspective of International Cooperation

Global Business Review ◽

10.1177/0972150920919381 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 097215092091938

Author(s):

Mário Franco ◽

Heiko Haase ◽

Arialba Rodini

Keyword(s):

International Cooperation ◽

Positive Impact ◽

Theory And Practice ◽

Exploratory Research ◽

Entrepreneurial Behaviour ◽

Documentary Analysis ◽

Environmental Criteria ◽

Multiple Case ◽

Multiple Case Studies

This study aims to understand the role of incubators, involved in international cooperation networks, in the process of internationalization of incubated small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Thus, in exploratory research, the method of multiple case studies was used, that is, three incubators (cases) were studied, two in Portugal and one in England. Interviews and documentary analysis were used as data collection techniques. From content analysis, the results of this study show that the objectives of these incubators are the development of local entrepreneurship through innovative projects, differentiating between them, by the positive impact, linked to socio-environmental criteria. All the incubators studied reinforce entrepreneurial behaviour and create an environment of innovation and internationalization for their incubated SMEs. Based on the empirical evidence, the internationalization activities of SMEs are facilitated by incubators involved in international cooperation relations. Some implications for theory and practice in this area of research are also presented in this article.

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Parent and student voice in evaluation and planning in schools

Improving Schools ◽

10.1177/1365480219895167 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 23 (1) ◽

pp. 85-102 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Martin Brown ◽

Gerry McNamara ◽

Shivaun O’Brien ◽

Craig Skerritt ◽

Joe O’Hara ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Evaluation Process ◽

Research Literature ◽

Theory And Practice ◽

Self Evaluation ◽

Documentary Analysis ◽

Education Environment ◽

Official Policy ◽

External Inspection

Current approaches to the regulation of schools in most jurisdictions tend to combine elements of external inspection with systems of internal self-evaluation. An increasingly important aspect of the theory and practice of both, but particularly the latter, revolves around the role of other actors, primarily parents and students, in the process. Using literature review and documentary analysis as the research method, this article explores the research literature from many countries around the concerns of schools and teachers about giving a more powerful voice to parents and pupils. Then, focusing on Ireland, this article tries to clarify three things, official policy concerning stakeholder voice in school self-evaluation and decision making, the efforts by schools to implement this policy and the response to date of school leaders and teachers to this rather changed environment. Using Hart’s ladder of genuine, as opposed to token, participation, it is argued that policy mandating parental and student involvement has evolved significantly, that schools have responded positively and that there is little evidence, as yet, of teacher concern or resistance. This response is explained by the low stakes and improvement-focused education environment; the controlled, structured and simplified nature of the self-evaluation process; and the limited extent of parental and student participation in decision making.

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Engaging in Enhancement: Implications of Participatory Approaches in Higher Education Quality Assurance

Collected Essays on Learning and Teaching ◽

10.22329/celt.v10i0.4728 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 10 ◽

pp. 89-100 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Jovan F Groen

Keyword(s):

Higher Education ◽

Quality Assurance ◽

Common Ground ◽

Participatory Approaches ◽

Quality Assurance Process ◽

Higher Education Quality ◽

Quality In Higher Education ◽

Assurance Process ◽

Internal Stakeholders

Stemming from increased levels of participation and diversity of the student base and from growing scrutiny on the quality of university degrees, governments have begun establishing mechanisms to monitor and support quality in higher education. Faced with administrative quality assurance structures, academics often complain that little is discussed in terms of collaborative effort toward program opportunities, enhancement, and growth and that focus is solely on accountability. This paper examines the viability of participatory approaches, pulled from the field of evaluation, as a way of leading to a more meaningful enhancement-oriented quality assurance process and creating common ground across the differing interests of external and internal stakeholders to quality in higher education.

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