Purpose -Higher education is increasingly being scrutinised and discourse centred on its usefulness to stakeholders. In 1992, the University for Development Studies (UDS) was established in Northern Ghana with a mission to engage with local communities to develop the area. This paper aims to understand the quality perspective of the university within the contexts of the needs of its catchment community and quality requirements of other stakeholders guided by issues arising from the questions of who really should define quality, in what context, for whose benefit, and with whose resources. Design/methodology/approach -The paper takes a qualitative approach using semi-structured interviews, documentary and artefacts to generate data from the UDS. Findings -Although donors play a crucial role in ensuring quality, the findings suggest that the basis for any effective quality should move beyond the traditional precepts to make it reflect local needs and realities within an international context guided by effective quality monitory and evaluation mechanisms. Practical implications -The paper provides practical suggestions of appropriate quality assurance models for higher education institutions in the developing world. Originality/value -The paper identifies some quality dilemmas in higher education in developing contexts.
Pan-European integration, based on theories of neo-functionalism and intergovernmentalism dates back to the Treaty of Paris of 1951, and has been an important force in the development of education and social policy across Europe since that time. This paper concentrates on the social, political and educational changes that have come about in many of the 28 sovereign states that now claim membership and are therefore subject to the EU treaties that cover educational policy and training issues. Choosing a selection of education developments, social policy and historical changes within European member states, the author seeks to illustrate how and where change has occurred and the implications that follow. It argues that, whilst European integration has been an important force of social and educational change, there are counteracting forces of national and regional interests, linguistic and cultural factors and historical trends that severely limit intergovernmental action and intention.
The volume provides a comprehensive reference resource for education in the countries that joined the European Union between the signing of the Treaty of Nice to the present time: Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia. Many of these countries have previously been under the influence of the Soviet Union and are moving through transitional phases towards more western models. The chapters in this volume, written by regional experts, examine the educational heritage of these countries and how these education systems evolved in response to changing national needs, European agreements including the Treaty of Nice and The Bologna Process, and international evaluations such as the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). The chapters on Cyprus and Malta show the very special circumstances of these two Mediterranean islands and the international influences that have underpinned their developments in education.
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