An interpretive study of quality assurance in Zambian higher education: Implications for teaching and learning

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT : There is emerging consensus internationally on the value of quality assurance in higher education,because of concerns on the global transformation of the higher education system from an elite highereducation system to a mass higher education system. The higher education system transformed frombeing an elite system to a mass higher education system because of the increasing social demand forhigher education worldwide. The higher education system is central because of its ability to advancesocio-economic development initiatives, which could possibly be constrained without assurance ofthe quality of higher education.Being part of the global system, the Zambian higher education system was affected by massificationand was liberalised to accommodate the effects of mass higher education. Liberalisation allowedparticipation of private providers in offering higher education. However, the National Policy onEducation in Zambia does not explicitly state how quality for the university system is to be assured.The vagueness is problematic, firstly because of the liberalisation. Without adequate qualityassurance, there is a danger that private providers might offer inferior qualifications to unsuspectingcohorts of students. Secondly, there is no evidence that specific quality assurance studies in Zambianuniversities have been undertaken, or that policy has had any influence on practice. In thisundermining context, it became necessary to undertake a study on quality assurance for Zambianuniversities. The question addressed through this study was: How do the clarification andimplementation of quality assurance strategies enable the Zambian Higher Education Authority toensure quality educational offerings in both public and private universities?The interpretive methodology was used with attendant methods of conceptual analysis anddeconstruction analysis to answer the research question posed. The interpretive methodology wasuseful because it argues on the meaningfulness of human action and seeks to understand the intentionsunderlying the actor's reasoning in a particular context. Understanding of the meaningfulness ofhuman actions and intentions was crucial in establishing the intent of policy in assuring quality. Theuse of attendant methods supported the clarification of concepts and detailed analysis of policy text,to enable me to reach a conclusion on how quality was being ensured for the Zambian universitysystem.This study found that quality was defined in terms of inputs, process and outputs. This understandingwas demonstrated by the implemented strategies, which focus on the inputs and process to assure theoutputs. The study also established that of the three strategies implemented by the Higher EducationAuthority, none is comprehensive in assuring the quality of the Zambian university system in itsentirety but assures quality in private universities only. As the study established the extent to which the implemented strategies are assuring quality, itprovides insights to policy makers to strengthen policy on quality assurance to enable the HigherEducation Authority to reach what it claims to be, namely the National Quality Assurance System forHigher Education in Zambia.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University