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The Ideological Reconstruction of Higher Education: Problematising Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area.

Pobiega, Jenny LU (2011) PEDM12 20111
Education
Abstract
The purpose of this thesis is to investigate the ideological forces working in the sphere of quality assurance in higher education. Through discourse analysis on two seminal policy documents, the European Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area (ENQA 2005) and OECD Work on Education (OECD 2010), the ideologically underbuilt discourses of Europe and Cost-effectiveness are identified. These work together to maintain a wider discourse of quality assurance that is conveyed through demands for accountability, assessment and a systems’ level mentality.
The discourses within quality assurance in higher education are ideologically grounded in neo-liberal values, creating a shift in the long-term... (More)
The purpose of this thesis is to investigate the ideological forces working in the sphere of quality assurance in higher education. Through discourse analysis on two seminal policy documents, the European Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area (ENQA 2005) and OECD Work on Education (OECD 2010), the ideologically underbuilt discourses of Europe and Cost-effectiveness are identified. These work together to maintain a wider discourse of quality assurance that is conveyed through demands for accountability, assessment and a systems’ level mentality.
The discourses within quality assurance in higher education are ideologically grounded in neo-liberal values, creating a shift in the long-term purpose of higher education into the delivery of measurable outcomes and employable students. This study suggests that further research, as well as policy-making, within the field needs to consider the ideological basis for these discourses and the hegemony of Neo-liberalism they support. Critical voices need to question our views on the purpose of higher education and the implications these have for the future. (Less)
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author
Pobiega, Jenny LU
supervisor
organization
course
PEDM12 20111
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
Quality, Quality Assurance, Higher Education, EHEA, OECD, ENQA, Discourse analysis, Ideology
language
English
id
1976325
date added to LUP
2011-09-09 16:23:35
date last changed
2014-09-04 08:37:01
@misc{1976325,
  abstract     = {{The purpose of this thesis is to investigate the ideological forces working in the sphere of quality assurance in higher education. Through discourse analysis on two seminal policy documents, the European Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area (ENQA 2005) and OECD Work on Education (OECD 2010), the ideologically underbuilt discourses of Europe and Cost-effectiveness are identified. These work together to maintain a wider discourse of quality assurance that is conveyed through demands for accountability, assessment and a systems’ level mentality. 
  The discourses within quality assurance in higher education are ideologically grounded in neo-liberal values, creating a shift in the long-term purpose of higher education into the delivery of measurable outcomes and employable students. This study suggests that further research, as well as policy-making, within the field needs to consider the ideological basis for these discourses and the hegemony of Neo-liberalism they support. Critical voices need to question our views on the purpose of higher education and the implications these have for the future.}},
  author       = {{Pobiega, Jenny}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{The Ideological Reconstruction of Higher Education: Problematising Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area.}},
  year         = {{2011}},
}