Lines of Change in the Discourse on Quality Assurance: An Overview of Some Studies into What Impacts Improvement

TLDR

Recent research has shifted from the design and implementation of quality assurance to its use and usefulness, with a growing focus on its impact on curricula and individual teachers. The study investigates which factors influence follow‑up activities and how they relate to educational improvement, through a critical analysis of existing studies. The authors examine how teachers’ experience of quality assurance shapes the climate for quality work in higher education, contextualized within the social environment of QA introduction, by critically reviewing relevant studies.

Abstract

Attention shifted in recent years from design and implementation to use and usefulness of qual-ity assurance. Scientific studies focus increasingly on quality assurance’s impact on curricula and on individual teachers. Which (f)actors influence follow-up activities and what is their relation to improvement of education? One factor that we single out is teachers’ experience of quality assur-ance and how that influences the climate for quality work in higher education institutions, against the backdrop of the social context in which quality assurance was introduced. The paper critically analyses a number of studies on the topic.