评估新模式:英国院校审计

英国一直以来都是高等教育质量保障的前沿阵地,以关注高校内部质量保障工作的有效开展为重心,其外部质量保障体系总是处于动态的发展之中.已实施近两轮的英国院校审计正是在长期实践中各方利益主体力量权衡下逐渐形成的一种模式,也是迄今为止相对成功的高等教育外部质量保障模式创新之一.     

荷兰高等教育外部质量保障新机制探析

荷兰模式是国际上著名的高等教育质量保障模式之一。最近荷兰又推出了高等教育外部质量保障的新机制——质量鉴定。通过对荷兰质量鉴定机制的内涵加以评介和分析,以期为我国当前高等教育管理体制改革和质量评估工作提供有益的启发和建议。     

我国高等教育质量保障的进展及趋势

中国高等教育的大发展必然对高等教育质量保障提出更为艰巨的任务和要求,新形势下的高等教育质量应如何判断,该如何保障都是我们必然面临的难题。因此,研究高等教育质量保障的进展及其趋势,对于＂办人民满意的大学＂也就显得至关重要。     

Impact evaluation of quality assurance in higher education: methodology and causal designs

In this paper, the theoretical perspectives and general methodological elements of impact evaluation of quality assurance in higher education institutions are discussed, which should be a cornerstone of quality development in higher education and contribute to improving the knowledge about the effectiveness (or ineffectiveness) of quality assurance. The suggested core methodology consists in comparative and longitudinal studies carried out simultaneously to the quality assurance interventions and relying on surveys and mixed methods. The methodology is applicable to any particular quality assurance procedure and any achievement area of higher education institutions. To round off the methodology presentation, an overview of causal designs, in particular causal social mechanisms, for impact analyses of quality assurance in higher education institutions and its challenges and limits is outlined and some characteristics of survey questionnaire construction are given.     

One or multiple paths to quality assurance of higher education institutions in the United Arab Emirates

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is a federation of seven autonomous emirates that follow different economic models. There is a process for quality assurance at the federal level, however, each emirate takes its own approach to assure the quality of its institutions. This has resulted in different procedures and varying levels of oversight and scrutiny of quality. Since the majority of higher education providers in the UAE are market-driven, this poses the challenge of maintaining the quality of education in those institutions. This study explores how well quality assurance systems support the quality of commercial higher education institutions using two research methods: semi-structured interviews with 38 stakeholders to investigate their perceptions of the quality assurance processes in the UAE; and focus group discussions with 161 students to collect their views of the quality of education in the commercialised institutions. The research confirms earlier findings that quality of education is a function of quality assurance processes.     

我国高等教育质量保证模式的建构策略

我国现有的以政府控制为显著特征的高等教育质量保证模式,在实际运行中产生了理论和实践上的诸多问题,改革势在必行。应逐步实行市场化策略,培育与建立评估市场。政府应变“行政管理”为“政策调控”,变“统包统揽”为“多边共识”,高校应从他律走向自律,社会则应从缺席到参与。     

英国高等教育质量保障体系分析

英国高等教育质量保障体系以内部质量保障为主体,外部质量保障为主导,前者主要是高校的自律机制和自适机制,后者主要以高等教育质量保障署的＂学术规范体系＂为主线,从而形成了其独立自主、以制度促规范、互动而平衡的鲜明特征。给我国的启示有：建立起法制化、制度化运作的高等教育质量保障体系和专业化的高等教育质量评估体系;完善以＂内部＂为主体、＂外部＂为主导的体系构成;加强内外有效沟通和协调发展的运行体系。     

远程高等教育质量保障的国际比较及启示

远程高等教育的自身特性决定着要保障质量就必须有相应的措施。美、英等国在这方面已经建立了比较完善的质量保障体系,其核心是质量认证制度和学习支持服务体系。借鉴美、英等国的经验,以学习者为中心,参与国际远程高等教育质量的认证,以开阔的国际视野建立适合中国实际的远程高等教育质量保障体系是理性的选择。     

关于高等教育质量问题的思考

高等教育质量既存在认识上的问题,也存在保障体系建设和完善上的不足。高等教育质量保证体系的建立和发挥作用是一项系统工程,无法毕其功于一役。高等教育质量的提高受高校内外部诸多因素的制约,其中高等学校应是高等教育质量的主要责任者,而教师则是起决定性作用的因素。     

基于TQM和ISO9000理念的高校校内质量保障体系构建

通过阐述高校教学质量保障体系的内涵、特征,结合高校教学质量管理体系实际,从TQM和ISO9000的基本内涵和理念入手,论述了基于TQM和ISO9000理念的高校校内质量保障体系的构建。     

欧洲博洛尼亚进程的层次结构改革及启示

博洛尼亚进程的目标是在全欧洲建立一个高等教育区,实现全欧洲高等教育层次结构的统一。为保证其层次结构统一的目标,在学分转换、建立健全质量保障体系、联合学位等方面提出了相关的配套措施。这对我国的高等教育层次结构改革起到重要的启示作用。     

Quality Assurance Mechanisms and Processes in Teaching Practice: The Case of the University of Botswana

ABSTRACT

Teacher education in Botswana is offered at various higher education institutions (HEIs). Undergraduate pre-service teachers for the secondary school level are trained at the University of Botswana (UB) and the Botswana College of Agriculture, and both HEIs offer different and autonomous teacher-training programmes. The Faculty of Education at UB has its own quality assurance mechanisms for the Teaching Practice (TP) and Practicum. The purpose of the study reported on was to identify the quality assurance mechanisms and processes in place and then to establish their effectiveness. The research type adopted was the case study. Data for the study was collected through document analysis, an open-ended questionnaire and interviews with student teachers, TP coordinators and supervisors and those who have participated in moderation panels. Generally, the findings indicated that there are effective quality assurance mechanisms, structures, processes and procedures in place for the TP at UB.     

Academic achievement standards and quality assurance

Quality assurance processes have been applied to many aspects of higher education, including teaching, learning and assessment. At least in the latter domain, quality assurance needs its fundamental tenets critically scrutinised. A common but inadequate approach has been to identify and promote learning environment changes ‘likely to improve’ learning outcomes. They are simply labelled ‘quality assurance’ without establishing their effectiveness. Part of the problem is that the case for quality assurance has been largely taken as self-evident. Originally, quality assurance principles were developed in domains outside higher education. In those, auditable product, service and other standards play a central role. Although external processes do not directly transfer to higher education, their underlying principles offer perspectives and pointers for reconceptualising quality assurance and improving assessment and grading. Quality assurance should be grounded in authoritative and properly formulated academic achievement standards applied to actual student works, performances and course grades.     

波伦亚进程下的挪威高等教育质量保障体制改革

欧洲波伦亚进程标志着欧洲高等教育一体化朝纵深方向发展,挪威作为该进程的积极参与国之一,近年来对本国高等教育体制进行了大刀阔斧的改革,特别是高等教育质量保障体制方面的改革更是走在了许多欧洲国家前列。本文简要论述了波伦亚进程的发展情况,并结合该进程的具体要求考察近年来挪威高等教育质量保障体制改革的主要措施及其特点,以期对我国高等教育质量保障体系的完善有所借鉴。     

澳大利亚大学质量保障署的跨国高等教育质量审核初探

澳大利亚大学质量保障署是一个独立于政府之外的质量保障机构,对澳大利亚跨国高等教育质量的审核起着举足轻重的作用。澳大利亚大学质量保障署跨国教育质量保障框架的构建体现了不同于我国跨国教育评估的理念和策略,有可资斟酌和借鉴之处。本文尝试对此议题进行评析,并对我国的跨国高等教育评估体系的构建提出一些建议。     

Unravelling Quality in Higher Education: What Say the Students?

Abstract

The extant literature on quality assurance in higher education points to a dearth of empirical studies on students’ conceptions of quality in higher education. This interpretivist article reports on a study that explored the conceptions of quality in higher education by final year undergraduate students in six academic disciplines at Makerere University, Uganda. Data for the article was collected from 50 final year students in eight discipline-specific focus group discussions and was analysed using thematic analysis. Four conceptions of quality in higher education were evident from the participants’ responses, namely: quality as transformation (value-added); quality as fitness for purpose; quality as excellence; and quality as consistency/ perfection (zero-errors). Nevertheless, transformation and fitness for purpose featured as the dominant conceptions of quality in higher education and these conceptions of quality did not take place in a vacuum. The students rationalised transformation and fitness for purpose by what they perceived the purpose of higher education to be. The multiple and yet competing purposes of higher education occasioned the two definitions of quality in higher education. Therefore, consensus on the meaning of quality can be hastened by arriving at a common purpose of higher education in a given society rather than engaging with the notions of quality themselves. This thinking presupposes the idea that the purpose of higher education varies across time and space and the definition of quality in higher education should be responsive to the prevailing purpose(s) of higher education in a given society.     

高等教育国际质量保证和认证的模式

在高等教育国际化的今天,各国政府、团体或者学校都寻求一个广泛认可的高等教育质量保证和认证模式。本文对Dirk Van Damme提出的四种模式做了介绍和评价。即1从现有的国家质量保证和认证系统和机构中分离出来并加强它;2促进跨境质量保证和质量保证及认证的双边认可;3．在国际和全球层面制定质量保证和认证机构的后认证;4建立国际质量保证和认证机制。我们需要根据现实情况来参与高等教育国际质量保证和认证,保护高等教育各利益相关人的权益。完善自己的认证系统。     

聚焦质量,齐抓共管,扎实推进本科教学评估工作——兼谈对普通高校本科教学评估新方案的学习体会

提高质量是高等教育发展的核心任务,最近教育部出台了有关全面提高高等教育质量和开展本科教学评估的文件,如何理解并贯彻落实是高等教育战线面临的现实问题。本文从国家高等教育发展战略的高度,国际教育管理改革和质量保障发展的角度,阐述提高质量的重要性,并指出教育评估是提高质量的重要抓手。进而,全面解读了新时期我国普通高校本科教学评估的制度框架,分析其内涵和基本特征。为了把本科教学评估工作落到实处,按照齐抓共管、内外结合的思路,从政府、高校、评估机构等不同主体职能分工出发,文章指出政府应发挥主导作用、高校应加强内部质量保障和自评自测、评估机构应提供专业服务并实行行业自律管理。     

比较视野下中英高等教育质量保障体系探析

英国作为高等教育质量保障体系较为完善的国家之一,其质量保障体系优于我国。中英两国高等教育质量保障的历史背景和发展状况有所不同,比较两国高等教育质量保障体系在政策法规、评估标准、评估主体、评估队伍专业性以及评估结果的不同,并从政治背景、传统文化和实践历史长短的角度分析两国高等教育质量保障体系差异存在的原因,可以为我国高等教育质量保障体系的进一步发展和完善提供借鉴。     

高等教育评估中几个值得探讨的问题

我国高等教育评估已经开展20年,经验值得总结,有必要在下列几个问题上从理论上进行反思:高等教育评估的目的和功能问题;高等教育评估与高等教育质量保障体系问题;高等教育评估与人文精神问题;高等教育评估的再评估问题等。