1. The Consortium of Higher Education Researchers (CHER) 21st Annual Conference
“Excellence and Diversity in Higher Education. Meanings, Goals and Instruments”
University of Pavia Università degli Studi di Pavia,
11th-13th September 2008
Potential conflicts when defining and determining quality in HE and their effects
Jón Torfi Jónasson and Gyða Jóhannsdóttir
School of Education
University of Iceland

2. Jón Torfi Jónasson – Gyða Jóhannsdóttir Pavia CHER 2008
The presentation JTJ
The question
Quality and organisational changes
The framework
Discussion about quality
Organisational changes
The interaction between organisational and related dynamics and quality
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Jón Torfi Jónasson – Gyða Jóhannsdóttir Pavia CHER 2008

3. Jón Torfi Jónasson – Gyða Jóhannsdóttir Pavia CHER 2008
The question
Do various systemic and organisational dynamics seriously influence the way in which quality is in fact determined in HE?
The background
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Jón Torfi Jónasson – Gyða Jóhannsdóttir Pavia CHER 2008

4. The different facets of quality
Relative and absolute effects
Policy
Level of education
Criteria of good education
The public and private good aspect of education
What do the stakeholders want?
Credentialism (public and private)
What are the criteria of good education
Professional education –
uncertainty about criteria
Teacher education
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Jón Torfi Jónasson – Gyða Jóhannsdóttir Pavia CHER 2008

5. Organisational changes GJ
Academic drift
Kyvik, six categories
Our main categories
Systemic drift,
Educational systems of higher education gradually become
more like traditional university systems;
Institutional drift
Tendency of non-university institutions to move closer towards
the traditional university institution than intended by the
authorities
Student drift
The tendency of the student population to choose
academic programmes
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Jón Torfi Jónasson – Gyða Jóhannsdóttir Pavia CHER 2008

6. Organisational changes
Academic drift
The criteria we use to determine if an academic drift is occurring
First we suggest a criterion that refers to research;
Second we point to the classification of final examinations,
The type faculty titles used
Descriptions of individual and institutional promotion systems
We suggest that these are very transparent and powerful criteria that control to a large extent the internal workings of an institution
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Jón Torfi Jónasson – Gyða Jóhannsdóttir Pavia CHER 2008

7. System and institutional drift; specific examples
Examples from Norway
The changes in the HE system
Adopted binary system 1994
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Jón Torfi Jónasson – Gyða Jóhannsdóttir Pavia CHER 2008

8. System and institutional drift; specific examples
Examples from Denmark
The changes in the HE system
Adopted binary system gradually,
- starting 2000 and completed 2007
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Jón Torfi Jónasson – Gyða Jóhannsdóttir Pavia CHER 2008

9. System and institutional drift; specific examples
Examples from Norway
The institutional drift within in the HE system
Non university sector very close to the university sector
Study programmes leading to university degrees
(PhD not frequent)
University titles
Individual and institutional promotion systems
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Jón Torfi Jónasson – Gyða Jóhannsdóttir Pavia CHER 2008

10. System and institutional drift; specific examples
Examples from Denmark
The institutional drift within in the HE system
Non university sector separated from the university sector
Teachers not supposed to carry out research
Study programmes not leading to university degree
but professional bachelor awarded
Not using university titles
No individual or institutional promotion systems
Example: Changes taking place in teacher education
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Jón Torfi Jónasson – Gyða Jóhannsdóttir Pavia CHER 2008

11. Jón Torfi Jónasson – Gyða Jóhannsdóttir Pavia CHER 2008
The interaction between organisational and quality factors vertical axis
Organisational or systemic perspectives
Greater number of students - efficiency and productivity
Policy of widening access
Bologna process
Systemic drift
Institutional drift
Credential race
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Jón Torfi Jónasson – Gyða Jóhannsdóttir Pavia CHER 2008

12. Jón Torfi Jónasson – Gyða Jóhannsdóttir Pavia CHER 2008
The interaction between organisational and quality factors horizontal axis
Quality perspectives
Organisation of teaching (and assessment of learning)
Organisation of programme (and assessment of learning)
Quality assurance (internal, external)
Accreditation mechanisms
Bologna Process
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Jón Torfi Jónasson – Gyða Jóhannsdóttir Pavia CHER 2008

13. The interaction between organisational factors and quality JTJ
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Jón Torfi Jónasson – Gyða Jóhannsdóttir Pavia CHER 2008

14. The interaction between organisational factors and quality
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Jón Torfi Jónasson – Gyða Jóhannsdóttir Pavia CHER 2008

15. The interaction between organisational factors and quality
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Jón Torfi Jónasson – Gyða Jóhannsdóttir Pavia CHER 2008

16. Jón Torfi Jónasson – Gyða Jóhannsdóttir Pavia CHER 2008
General conclusions
Quality and excellence are major concerns
The are a number of very robust policy effects and organisational changes taking place that impinge very directly on the institutional culture; this becomes especially noticeable when we follow these dynamic changes in detail
The tension between public and private good reflects on the quality processes
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Jón Torfi Jónasson – Gyða Jóhannsdóttir Pavia CHER 2008

17. Jón Torfi Jónasson – Gyða Jóhannsdóttir Pavia CHER 2008
General conclusions
From Kenya, Wangenge-Ouma (2008) argues convincingly, (on what we think demonstrates a universality of a problem) on the basis of vivid, transparent data that
Kenya’s public universities were precipitately subjected to diminished public capitation, and so was their plunging into marketisation … The desire to claim a bigger share in the student market has seen the introduction of many new courses in advance of capacity to offer them. … [b]y seeking economic self-determination through full fee-paying programmes, in advance of a well-developed institutional capacity, the subsequent pressure seems to have made the quality situation worse (p. 457).
This should not be taken as an input into the debate over HE marketisation, and we simply state here that there are, not surprisingly, firm links between levels of quality and the economic necessities with which institutions must deal.
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Jón Torfi Jónasson – Gyða Jóhannsdóttir Pavia CHER 2008

18. Jón Torfi Jónasson – Gyða Jóhannsdóttir Pavia CHER 2008
General conclusions
As regards the implicit and explicit tensions that arise, the guardian forces of quality will become sub-servient to these institutional and societal dynamics.
One of the principal reasons the former will lose out is the fact that the notion of quality is so difficult to pin down; it is so situation and perspective dependent.
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Jón Torfi Jónasson – Gyða Jóhannsdóttir Pavia CHER 2008

19. Jón Torfi Jónasson – Gyða Jóhannsdóttir Pavia CHER 2008
Thank you
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Jón Torfi Jónasson – Gyða Jóhannsdóttir Pavia CHER 2008