This thesis comprises a case study of quality assurance policy and practice in the emerging higher education sector of the Maldives. The policy analysis is extended to incorporate a glonacal perspective, allowing analysis of quality assurance policy issues from the global, national and local contexts. In order to illuminate the analysis in the Maldives' primary case study, two secondary less intensive case studies are presented of quality assurance processes from a New Zealand polytechnic and the University of the South Pacific. Documentary evidence and semi-structured interviews from Key Informants form the main evidence base for the study. Data analysis is facilitated using NVivo. The thesis argues that the upsurge in quality assurance in higher education is primarily legitimated within a neoliberal discourse, Urged by transnational organisations such as the World Bank, there is widespread policy convergence in quality assurance. Whilst neoliberalism has had partial effects in the case of the Maldives, the study reveals that neoliberal ideology and the associated strategies of marketisation, privatisation, human resource development and managerialism have shaped quality assurance policy processes in varying degrees in the three cases. Findings in this study contribute to a fuller understanding of quality assurance policy processes in a small developing nation context: a perspective largely missing from current debates on the subject. The findings confirm that a combination of global, national and institutional factors influenced quality assurance policy processes in the Maldives. From the global context, globalisation and internationalisation of higher education trends affect quality assurance policy. At the national level, the desire for higher quality education found expression in the state's reassertion of its role in protecting public interest in regulating the sector through formal quality assurance. The social demand for international comparability has also lead to a growing trend of transnational quality assurance practices. The creation of the Maldives College of Higher Education was shown to be the principal impetus in quality assurance development. This national college played a lead role in developing a quality assurance model that tends to promote a regulatory compliance to quality. The study argues for a more inclusive model that acknowledges external compliance but also seeks to assure quality of teaching and learning leading to improved student outcomes.

The purpose of the study is to explore the current policy and practice of the national and institutional QA system in public HEIs in Ethiopia in order to determine how the quality of teaching and learning might have been enhanced through the QA system. Two organisational theories – contingency and neo-institutional theory – provide a theoretical lens to explain how internal and external organisational environments affect the implementation of QA in the HEIs. The mixed-methods research approach was used in the study, including document analysis, semi-structured interviews and questionnaires. Three public universities were chosen as data source. At macro level, the HERQA was also included to examine the effect of the institutional environments on internal quality assurance practices. The findings revealed that there is little evidence of self-initiated quality enhancement activities in the public HEIs. They do not have adequate structures, systems, and written policies to assure quality. The quality assurance efforts were implemented without a clear sense of direction and purposes and therefore lacked effective coordination. The self-evaluations were symbolically took place at the higher levels of the universities and that the results of the evaluations were rarely used in a structured way in improvement of teaching-learning, faculty decision-making and planning processes. It is far from clear that whether the internal quality assurance contributed to the teaching and learning or transformed the student learning experience. It can be concluded that the HERQA’s quality assurance policy and practices seems to be de-coupled from internal initiatives to improve quality in the higher education institutions. It is recommended that HEIs should develop QA policy, mobilise resources for institutional quality improvement, establish full-fledged QA structures at all levels, and furnish the structures with necessary human resources. The HEIs should initiate and undertake effective self-assessment of their activities, own it and work towards achieving their own stated objectives. It is important that the HERQA should develop accreditation procedures, particularly at programme level, for the public HEIs. The HERQA should consider playing more active roles in communicating with HEIs regularly about QA; pay more attention to a follow-up of the audits, the punctual development and delivery of the SEDs. The HERQA should be more independent, have more autonomy and sufficient resources to become a viable professional agency informing the HE sector on the quality of its performance. / Educational Management and Leadership / D. Ed. (Education Management)

The purpose of the study is to explore the current policy and practice of the national and institutional QA system in public HEIs in Ethiopia in order to determine how the quality of teaching and learning might have been enhanced through the QA system. Two organisational theories – contingency and neo-institutional theory – provide a theoretical lens to explain how internal and external organisational environments affect the implementation of QA in the HEIs. The mixed-methods research approach was used in the study, including document analysis, semi-structured interviews and questionnaires. Three public universities were chosen as data source. At macro level, the HERQA was also included to examine the effect of the institutional environments on internal quality assurance practices. The findings revealed that there is little evidence of self-initiated quality enhancement activities in the public HEIs. They do not have adequate structures, systems, and written policies to assure quality. The quality assurance efforts were implemented without a clear sense of direction and purposes and therefore lacked effective coordination. The self-evaluations were symbolically took place at the higher levels of the universities and that the results of the evaluations were rarely used in a structured way in improvement of teaching-learning, faculty decision-making and planning processes. It is far from clear that whether the internal quality assurance contributed to the teaching and learning or transformed the student learning experience. It can be concluded that the HERQA’s quality assurance policy and practices seems to be de-coupled from internal initiatives to improve quality in the higher education institutions. It is recommended that HEIs should develop QA policy, mobilise resources for institutional quality improvement, establish full-fledged QA structures at all levels, and furnish the structures with necessary human resources. The HEIs should initiate and undertake effective self-assessment of their activities, own it and work towards achieving their own stated objectives. It is important that the HERQA should develop accreditation procedures, particularly at programme level, for the public HEIs. The HERQA should consider playing more active roles in communicating with HEIs regularly about QA; pay more attention to a follow-up of the audits, the punctual development and delivery of the SEDs. The HERQA should be more independent, have more autonomy and sufficient resources to become a viable professional agency informing the HE sector on the quality of its performance. / Educational Leadership and Management / D. Ed. (Education Management)