TY  - UNPB
EP  - 295
AV  - restricted
ID  - discovery10007439
N1  - Leaves 288-295 are appendices
PB  - Institute of Education, University of London
Y1  - 2001///
A1  - Perellon, Juan-Francisco
M1  - Doctoral
N2  - Abstract
This research studies the development of policies for quality assurance in four European
systems of higher education, namely England, the Netherlands, Spain and Switzerland. It
compares how these four countries have adopted the policies for quality assurance that can be
observed currently and investigates the extent to which cross-national convergence may be
taking place.
The theoretical approach to the topic is based on policy analysis. Quality assurance is
approached as a policy domain within which particUlar public policies are formulated and
implemented. These policies correspond to the responses of the different countries to a
number of fundamental choices regarding the organisation of the quality assurance policy
domain and are composed of ideational (the policy beliefs) and material (the policy
instruments) elements. The type of response is influenced, it is argued, by a number of
factors. These can be either internal or external to the system of higher education and can
originate either from within the national environment or internationally.
The comparative method upon which the empirical studies are based makes a distinction
between diachronic and synchronic comparisons. First, the analysis focuses on the factors
that can influence the emergence of quality assurance as a political issue in each national
context. Then, the focus shifts to the factors potentially at play in the construction of the
quality assurance policy domain. This distinction permits the assessment of the emergence of
quality assurance as a problem and the kind of policies each country has developed to
address the fundamental choices in quality assurance in HE.
The data consist of documentary sources of different type as well as twenty-three interviews
with actors involved in the process of policy formulation in HE in general and quality
assurance in particular in the four countries.
The comparative analysis of the national quality assurance policy domains reveals that crossnational
convergence has been (and still is) taking place. This convergence, however, takes
place at the level of the policy beliefs, the paradigm core of the national policies, whereas the
policy instruments form~lated in each country tend to reflect, to a substantial degree, the
impact of national factors.
KW  - Higher education
KW  - Quality assurance
KW  - Policy
KW  - Comparative studies
KW  - Great Britain
KW  - Netherlands
KW  - Spain
KW  - Switzerland
KW  - Theses
TI  - The development of quality assurance policy in higher education : a comparative analysis of England, the Netherlands, Spain and Switzerland
UR  - http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.394934
ER  -