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21 – 30 of over 156000
Article
Publication date: 3 February 2020

Ali Gerged and Mohamed Elheddad

As the international society faces unprecedented challenges associated with resource scarcity, governance scandals, increasing injustice and inequality, new opportunities for…

Abstract

Purpose

As the international society faces unprecedented challenges associated with resource scarcity, governance scandals, increasing injustice and inequality, new opportunities for higher education institutions are emerging. This paper aims to investigate the association between national governance standards and education quality across nine western European countries, namely, the UK, Germany, France, Finland, Norway, Switzerland, Sweden, Denmark and Ireland.

Design/methodology/approach

Using panel data from 2002 to 2017, this paper uses fixed-effects and random-effects models to examine the relationship between national governance (proxied by voice and accountability (V&A) indicator) and education quality (proxied by human development index: education index). This analysis is supplemented with conducting instrumental variable (IV) estimations to address any concerns regarding the expected occurrence of endogeneity problems.

Findings

The findings are suggestive of a significant and positive relationship between national governance and education quality in Europe. This implies that national governance standards, such as V&A, are essential actors in the enhancement of the quality of educational institutions’ outcomes.

Research limitations/implications

Policymakers should implement stricter regulations and ensure that accountability indicators are motivated if they wish to increase the spending on education, which is associated with better qualities of educational institutions. A culture of continuous review of education policies needs to be upheld in the Western Europe region to be watchful of any emerging problems while maintaining a sustainable relationship between the rule of law and the education administration.

Originality/value

So far, a minimal number of studies focussed on examining the role of country-level governance in advancing education quality. This study, therefore, extends the body of prior literature by investigating the possible effect of national governance structures on education quality across a sample of Western European countries.

Details

International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, vol. 21 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1467-6370

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 2 July 2018

Azilah Anis, Rafikul Islam and Nur Anisah Abdullah

The paper aims to identify the emerging themes on the challenges faced by the Malaysian private higher learning institutions (HLIs) in the provision of providing quality education.

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Abstract

Purpose

The paper aims to identify the emerging themes on the challenges faced by the Malaysian private higher learning institutions (HLIs) in the provision of providing quality education.

Design/methodology/approach

Semi-structured interviews were purposively conducted with 29 of the Malaysian private HLI internal and external stakeholders ranging from the relevant personnel of the institutions (the quality director, administrators and senior academics), regulatory agencies, prospective employer, students and parents. Thematic analysis was then applied to analyze the participants’ responses in determining and clarifying the challenges faced by the Malaysian private HLIs in the issue of providing quality education.

Findings

Eight overarching themes were identified, namely, Academics, Facilities, Students, Programs and curriculum, Competition, Accreditation, Finance and Research. Academics represent the most frequent challenge raised by the participants, whereas Research emerged as the least mentioned challenge during the interview sessions.

Research limitations/implications

The present paper focused solely on Malaysian private HLIs, and thus, the findings may not be applicable to the foreign private HLIs that are operating in Malaysia as well as to the public HLIs.

Originality/value

The findings are expected to provide valuable guidelines to the Malaysian Private HLIs in areas where resources need to be critically disbursed. To the regulatory agencies and policy-makers, the findings could enlighten them on the difficulties faced by these privately funded institutions so that further policies can be designed and implemented to assist these institutions in their operations and long-term survival.

Details

Quality Assurance in Education, vol. 26 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0968-4883

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 21 August 2007

Raine Isaksson, Jonas Hansson and Rickard Garvare

The application of a process view, as complement to the traditional functional division, is often a way to highlight organisational improvement potential. This paper examines the…

Abstract

The application of a process view, as complement to the traditional functional division, is often a way to highlight organisational improvement potential. This paper examines the process of providing university level education in quality management, using Sweden as an example. The purpose is to assess the performance of university education as part of the supply chain of providing quality management to a society. This has been done by studying the actual offering compared to a notional benchmark of best performance. Preliminary results indicate that there could be a significant improvement potential in both providing more education of the right type and in the right way. A lot of similar basic courses are given but with varying names, possibly reflecting difficulties in defining the area of quality management and its constituents. An important reason for the detected improvement potential seems to be the lack of ownership of the studied supply chain of providing university level quality education to the Swedish society.

Details

Asian Journal on Quality, vol. 8 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1598-2688

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 4 July 2016

Huong Thi Pham and Louise Starkey

Vietnam is experiencing rapid expansion in the provision of higher education that requires quality assurance appropriate for the Vietnamese-centralised Confucian cultural context…

1970

Abstract

Purpose

Vietnam is experiencing rapid expansion in the provision of higher education that requires quality assurance appropriate for the Vietnamese-centralised Confucian cultural context. This paper aims to examine the concept of quality from the perspectives of academic leaders, quality assurance members and academics at three higher education institutions in Vietnam.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on an interpretative study, semi-structured interviews were used as a major research instrument augmented with document analysis across three case studies. Interviews were conducted with 35 participants from three groups of stakeholders.

Findings

The concept of quality was found to be under-conceptualised in this Vietnamese context. Quality was conceptualised as meeting societal needs across the case studies underpinned by the belief that the purpose of higher education is to prepare graduates for employment.

Research limitations/implications

The study was conducted in similar disciplines at three state-owned universities in Vietnam in 2011. This provides insight within this context and timeframe that may not be generalised. It is suggested to extend this research to other disciplines, the private sector and other groups of stakeholders.

Practical implications

The paper discusses the necessity of revisiting the philosophy of higher education and re-conceptualising quality in Vietnam that informs quality assurance processes that are relevant to the cultural context.

Originality/value

This paper provides a centralised Confucian perspective to the literature on quality assurance in higher education. How quality is perceived by academic leaders, quality assurance members and, in particular, academic staff can be used to inform policy. In a centralised country such as Vietnam, academic leaders and quality assurance members may indicate their “obedient” attitudes to policies, leading to the same view with what is centrally enacted, while the academic staff have a different perception of quality.

Details

Quality Assurance in Education, vol. 24 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0968-4883

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 May 2007

Katharina Michaelowa

The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the relationship among different levels of education.

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the relationship among different levels of education.

Design/methodology/approach

International cross‐country comparisons, bi‐ and multivariate analyses, with many graphical illustrations. These methods are used to compare educational outcomes at the primary, secondary and tertiary level in terms of quantity (enrolment) and quality (measured in terms of student achievement, university rankings, patents and researchers), and to analyse the impact of heterogeneity between secondary schools on tertiary outcomes.

Findings

The results suggest that certain minimum levels of enrolment at primary and secondary level represent a necessary condition for the development of functioning higher education. Another relevant result of our analysis is that strong differences between educational institutions at secondary level may be detrimental for tertiary education quality.

Research limitations/implications

This research only represents an initial explorative analysis.

Practical implications

In order to improve tertiary education outcomes, education policy should not concentrate on tertiary education alone, but also consider insufficiencies at lower levels of education.

Originality/value

This paper attempts to fill a gap in the present educational literature in that it tries to provide some empirical evidence for the theoretical argument that quality tertiary education requires a sound basis of students to draw from; i.e. a basis of students which should be restricted as little as possible by lack of access to secondary or even primary education, and/or by lack of access to sufficiently quality oriented schools.

Details

Quality Assurance in Education, vol. 15 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0968-4883

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 7 January 2013

Siva Muthaly, Antonio C. Lobo and Jimmy Song Jen-Yuan

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the factors which influence Taiwanese students' destination choice for their overseas postgraduate studies. Constructs elicited from…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the factors which influence Taiwanese students' destination choice for their overseas postgraduate studies. Constructs elicited from the literature were overall perception of education quality, available information, country characteristics and accrual of potential benefits.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper takes the form of a literature review, from which the authors identified four constructs: quality of available information; overseas country characteristics; potential benefits; and perceptions of overall education quality. The data required for this research were collected by means of a consumer-type survey. A questionnaire was developed with 40 items adapted from previously validated scales. A non-probabilistic sampling procedure, i.e. convenience sampling, was adopted owing to the unavailability of a satisfactory sampling frame. Final-year undergraduate students from four universities in Taiwan were targeted. There was upfront a screening question which eliminated students who were not knowledgeable about overseas postgraduate education from continuing the survey. A total of 312 survey questionnaires were administered by trained interviewers, during a two-week period, and 301 completed questionnaires were collected.

Findings

The research findings revealed that the overall perception of education quality in host country influences the choice of the destination country. Path analysis has shown the catalytic need for intermediation by potential benefits accrued. Postgraduate Taiwanese students, having a better appreciation of western acculturation and potential migration and job prospects, together with the constructs of quality of information and country characteristics, have a better overall perception of education quality of destination country.

Research limitations/implications

Universities targeting Taiwanese postgraduate students need to highlight aspects of potential benefits in their marketing literature and promotional materials. The results of this study will certainly benefit overseas educational institutions and their marketing departments.

Originality/value

This is one of the very few studies which uses partial least squares to address a complex situation associated with the hierarchy of determinants in the selection of a foreign university.

Details

Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, vol. 25 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1355-5855

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 February 2016

Victor Gambhir, N C Wadhwa and Sandeep Grover

The paper aims to discuss current Technical Education scenarios in India. It proposes modelling the factors affecting quality in a technical institute and then applying a suitable…

Abstract

Purpose

The paper aims to discuss current Technical Education scenarios in India. It proposes modelling the factors affecting quality in a technical institute and then applying a suitable technique for assessment, comparison and ranking.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper chose graph theoretic approach for quantification of quality-enabled model. Further, the paper has validated the approach by taking examples of institutions and applying the methodology.

Findings

The paper provides a systematic methodology to build a quality model for quantification of various factors in a technical institute. The qualitative effect represented in form of a single numerical index is a novel method for such representations. The illustrated methodology in the paper is equally useful for comparison and ranking of a set of institutes.

Research limitations/implications

Because of the chosen factors in the approach, the methodology may not be equally suitable based on type and size of institute and the geographical location.

Practical implications

The paper includes demonstration on application of methodology for comparing the quality in a quantitative manner. The dynamic model allows changing factors and/or their effects as per requirement.

Social implications

In future, the methodology can be taken up by government/regulatory bodies and can convey the comparisons of institutions to stakeholders including students and parents.

Originality/value

This paper attempts to develop a novel method for comparing quality that can be used by accreditation bodies.

Details

Quality Assurance in Education, vol. 24 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0968-4883

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 2 January 2018

Mohammad Alamgir Hossain, Md Moazzem Hossain and Tajmin Hossain Chowdhury

A successful education system is a great asset for any society. However, what factors make an academic institution successful and how these factors interact with each other are…

Abstract

Purpose

A successful education system is a great asset for any society. However, what factors make an academic institution successful and how these factors interact with each other are not clear in literature. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to develop and validate a model that explains success of private universities which entails clarification on theoretical understanding and explains the relationships among relevant variables.

Design/methodology/approach

Variables from information systems success models and marketing theories have been adapted in the context of private universities to theorize a conceptual model. In order to validate the model, this study employed quantitative approach. Survey data, collected from 326 respondents, were analysed using partial least squares algorithm.

Findings

The results suggest that: “curriculum quality”, “teaching competence”, “service facility”, and “service delivery” provided by a private university are positively related to “perceived value (PV)”, while students’ perceived satisfaction (SPS) is dependent on “service facility”; PV and SPS drive to students’ “intention for continued education (ICE)”, and ICE eventually improves quality of students’ lives. Additionally, PV and SPS are interrelated. The mediating roles of PV and SPS are also identified.

Research limitations/implications

Empirical data analyses confirm that improving quality of life through continued education represents an insightful theoretical lens for investigating success in higher education. To become successful in education business, maintaining both academic quality and service quality are important for a private university because they lead to student satisfaction and the overall PV of education.

Originality/value

This study is the first initiative that develops and validates a success model of private universities. The findings provide some guidelines for top managers in higher education to maximize their abilities to understand customers’ expectations in both strategic and operational settings.

Details

International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management, vol. 35 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0265-671X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 30 July 2021

Jerald Ozee Fernandes and Balgopal Singh

The higher education system has been entrusted globally to provide quality education, especially to the youth, and equip them with required skills and capabilities. The…

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Abstract

Purpose

The higher education system has been entrusted globally to provide quality education, especially to the youth, and equip them with required skills and capabilities. The visionaries and policymakers of the countries around the world have been working relentlessly to improve the standard of the higher education system by establishing national and global accreditation and ranking bodies and expecting measuring performance through setting up accreditation and ranking parameters. This paper focuses on the review of Indian university accreditation and ranking system and determining its efficacy in improving academic quality for achieving good position in global quality accreditation and ranking.

Design/methodology/approach

The study employed exploratory research approach to know about the accreditation and ranking issues of Indian higher education institutions to overcome the challenges for being globally competitive. The accreditation and ranking parameters and score of leading Indian universities was collected from secondary data sources. Similarly, the global ranking parameters and scores of these Indian universities with top global universities was explored. The performance gaps of Indian university in global academic quality parameter is assessed by comparing it with scores of global top universities. Further, each domestic and global accreditation and ranking parameters have been taken up for discussion.

Findings

The study identified teaching and learning, research and industry collaboration as common parameter in the accreditation and ranking by Indian and global accreditation and ranking body. Furthermore, the study revealed that Indian accreditation and ranking body assess leniently on parameters and award high scores as compared to rigorous global accreditation and ranking practice. The study revealed that “research” and “citations” are important parameters for securing prestigious position in global ranking, this is the reason Indian universities are trailing. The study exposed that Indian academic fraternity lack prominence in research, publication and citations as per need of global accreditation and ranking standards.

Research limitations/implications

The limitation of this study is that it focused only on few Indian and global accreditation and ranking bodies. The future implication of this study will be the use of methodology designed in this study for comparing accreditation and ranking bodies’ parameters of different continents and countries in different economic development stages i.e. emerging and developed economies to know the disparity and shortcomings in their higher education system.

Practical implications

The article is a review and comparison of national and global accreditation and ranking parameters. The article explored the important criteria and key indicators of accreditation and ranking that would provide an important and meaningful insight to academic institutions of the emerging economies of the world to develop its competitiveness. The study contributed to the literature on identifying benchmark for improving academic and higher education institution quality. This study would be further helpful in fostering new ideas toward setting up of contemporary globally viable and acceptable academic quality standard.

Originality/value

This is possibly the first study conducted with novel methodology of comparing the Indian and global accreditation and ranking parameters to identify the academic quality performance gap and suggesting ways to attain academic benchmark through continuous improvement activity and process for global competitiveness.

Details

The TQM Journal, vol. 34 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1754-2731

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 December 2006

Masood Abdulla Badri, Hassan Selim, Khaled Alshare, Elizabeth E. Grandon, Hassan Younis and Mohammed Abdulla

The purpose of this paper is to empirically test the causal relationships in the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award (MBNQA) Education Performance Excellence Criteria.

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to empirically test the causal relationships in the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award (MBNQA) Education Performance Excellence Criteria.

Design/methodology/approach

Using a sample of 220 respondents from 15 United Arab Emirates (UAE) universities and colleges, results of regression analysis and confirmatory structural equation modeling show that all of the hypothesized causal relationships in the Baldrige model are statistically significant.

Findings

A comprehensive “measurement model” grounded in the Baldrige Performance Excellence in Education Criteria for the 33 items of measurement is developed, tested, and found to be valid and reliable. Leadership is identified as a driver for all components in the Baldrige System, including measurement, analysis and knowledge management, strategic planning, faculty and staff focus and process management. All Baldrige components (categories) are significantly linked with organizational outcomes as represented by the two categories of organizational performance results and student, stakeholder and market focus. The paper also tests the statistical fit of the only Baldrige model dealing with higher education, which was published in 1998 by Winn and Cameron.

Research limitations/implications

The data obtained are based on a sample of UAE higher education institutions. Studies in other countries should be conducted using the developed model to ensure the reliability of the results obtained.

Practical implications

A greater understanding of the linkages between the elements making‐up the MBNQA Education Performance Excellence Criteria model, facilitating the guiding role that the award models play in the implementation of quality management in higher education.

Originality/value

For the first time, an instrument of the MBNQA Education Performance Excellence Criteria is developed and tested. A new in‐depth and holistic perspective for examining the relationships and linkages in the MBNQA Education Performance Excellence Criteria model is provided.

Details

International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management, vol. 23 no. 9
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0265-671X

Keywords

21 – 30 of over 156000