The ‘Q’ word: What does it mean in your discipline?

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Author(s)Helen Lockey
Quality in learning and teaching resides, in some form, in all jurisdictions that have structured and formalised education institutions, but what quality means to one individual, discipline or institution may or may not be what it means to another. Thus, quality is in the eye of the beholder. Where the academic community unites is that quality in learning and teaching should be aspired to. On campuses around the world, quality is discussed, debated and repeated like a mantra. And by extension, good quality has become the common denominator that brings about shared understanding between students, teachers and stakeholders. The literature on quality is abundant, but often slippery. It is detailed, yet readily contestable. In the management and manufacturing fields, it is more easily quantifiable, but in academia it remains fluid, and oftentimes elusive. But what exactly is quality or good quality, how do we know, and how is it measured?
CategoriesQuality of HE » 2012 7th EQAF