This research explored stakeholder experiences of a quality enhancement project (QEP) in South African universities. Stakeholder views were considered regarding the impact of the policy shift embodied by the QEP on implementation strategies and the gains made since its inception in improving student retention and throughput. The study employed a multiple-qualitative case study research design involving four universities (one traditional, one university of technology, one comprehensive, one traditional merger) and purposive sampling. Data collection techniques involved document analysis, in-depth interviews with Deputy Vice Chancellors: Teaching and Learning, Directors: Teaching and Learning, quality assurance (QA) managers, quality enhancement (QE) coordinators, Council on Higher Education (CHE) officials and the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) QA experts and focus group interviews with student leaders. The theoretical framework for this study was drawn from Ball et al.’s (1992) theory on policy processes and it focuses on three contexts of policy processes: the contexts of influence, text production, and practice. The findings revealed multi-layered stakeholder perspectives of the QEP based on stakeholders’ situated contexts in the higher education sector. The CHE and DHET viewed the QEP as an instrument (intervention) to capacitate institutions through promotion of best practice initiatives and collective engagement, shared practice and “learning from each other”. The institutions, on the other hand, were divided on how they experienced the QEP as follows: i) as an essential and valuable process to address structural and transformational issues for institutional effectiveness and change, ii) as an ambitious, uncoordinated, expensive, and to a certain extent futile process for address teaching and learning issues across the sector, and iii) as a lens to evaluate progress in meeting institutional goals and creating graduate attributes. The students expressed feelings of frustration about their voices not being heard in policy and institutional decision-making processes. The findings also revealed the complexities surrounding the shift from quality assurance (QA) to quality enhancement (QE), differences in approach and practice resulting from a lack of common understanding of what policy is, the role played by the QEP and the different understandings amongst the stakeholders about its intentions. At the same time, the lack of a theory underpinning practice translated to different experiences and interpretations of the shift from QA to QE. Strategies employed were informed by individual institutional visions located in the DVC: Teaching and Learning portfolios and not in the collective university community of practice. The findings also revealed that borrowing educational policy from other countries and contexts can have adverse effects for policy implementation owing to differences in political, social, economic and cultural contexts and different institutional dynamics. Importantly also, the top-down approaches where policy makers design policy to fit their ‘mandate’ and ‘philosophy’ of policy resulted in a project mentality that was not useful. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2019. / Education Management and Policy Studies / PhD / Unrestricted

The aim of this study was to examine the role of distance education in providing access to quality postgraduate education in Ethiopia, using the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) as a case study. It draws on the development of distance education and it further explores the distance education programme delivery system in Ethiopia on the postgraduate level. In addition, the study explores the policy gap between conventional and distance education in relation to international postgraduate distance education. The study, specifically, focuses on the Master of Arts in Rural Development (MARD) programme offered by IGNOU in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in terms of the opportunities it provides for alternative access to postgraduate education. It also explores the quality and quality assurance strategies employed in distance education. Two instruments were used to gather relevant data, namely: interviews and document analysis. The structured interviews were conducted with MARD graduates and current students at IGNOU in 2012. Other semi-structured and structured interviews were conducted with the dean and department head, programme coordinator, tutors, the institution‘s top-level managers, the course and materials dispatching officer and administrator as well as with policy-makers at the Ministry of Education (MoE). Furthermore, interviews were conducted with higher education experts and other MoE senior officials in foreign relations and those involved in cross-border private higher institutions. Senior officials from the Higher Education Relevance and Quality Agency (HERQA) were also interviewed, such as the deputy director and senior officials who are responsible for quality audit and accreditation for both private and public higher education as well as the external quality auditors. A total sample size of thirty respondents participated in the study and the respondents were purposefully selected from diverse areas. The data gathered, using a qualitative method, was analysed. The selected relevant documents for the study were also thoroughly analysed and agreed with the interview findings. The study established that distance education has the potential to contribute significantly to the provision of higher education in Ethiopia. As the main findings of the study revealed, there is recognition of the MARD programme by the participants, especially the graduates in terms of the fulfilment of certain quality elements which is largely due to the promotion they received after the completion of the programme. The MoE participants indicated an acceptance of IGNOU in terms of it increasing access to higher education, even though it seems to be unrealistic to state that the quality of postgraduate distance education at IGNOU at this level is of the highest standard. Nevertheless, the quality indicators or elements at IGNOU regarding student support services and the quality of course materials and assessment methods are clear evidence that indicate that IGNOU is addressing the issues of quality enhancement and improvement. There are, however, a number of factors which can affect the realisation of the potential of distance education programmes in Ethiopia. These are considered in terms of the operations of international providers of postgraduate studies and their role in meeting the increasing demand for quality human resource development in the country. In view of the findings and provided that the necessary conditions are met, it is possible to provide postgraduate studies in distance education programmes in Ethiopia in an efficient and successful manner. This requires careful planning and the alignment of the policy framework with the conventional system of higher education. The study further reveals a range of strengths and weaknesses in the postgraduate level distance education programmes offered by international providers and by IGNOU, in particular. The main areas of emphasis include the national education policy and its implications for distance education development and the entire institutional and pedagogic system of the cross-border institution; the focus of which includes course material development; the provision of various student support services; as well as the integration of ICT and assessment and evaluation methods. In the light of the above factors the study also identifies some strategies that can be used to develop and increase the effectiveness of these programmes. A significant strategy identified in this study recommends the need to decentralise services into different regional administrative centres. There is, therefore, a need to have comprehensively stocked libraries and quality student support services at the regional centres with adequate facilities for distance students including services, such as ICT, access to reference materials and counselling. Frameworks for assuring quality in open and distance learning, identified by Latchem and Jung in Asian Open and Distance Learning universities (ODL) (2007) and Lockhart and Lacy (2002) and an Assessment model used in the United States‘ distance education context were adopted for the purpose of analysis in this study. Latchem and Jung (2007) examine the various quality assurance approaches employed in Asian Open and Distance Learning universities (ODL). They make suggestions on how to achieve a culture of quality in distance education which is relevant in the context of developing countries, such as Ethiopia. The following three quality indicators were used as tools of analysis: coherence, efficiency and the impact of distance education. These indicators are identified by Perraton (2000:199) and are drawn from the quality criteria specific to distance education. They were adopted as a framework that could be applied to quality distance education in responding to human resource development in Ethiopia. The study reveals that access to postgraduate studies in the conventional face-to-face system in Ethiopia is still a problem for some students and workers. Therefore, it is recommended that international postgraduate distance education providers should collaborate with local private and public contact higher education institutions in order to provide alternative access to higher education via the distance education mode. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2014. / tm2015 / Education Management and Policy Studies / PhD / Unrestricted

With globalisation and the rise of the knowledge economy, there has been an increase in demand for higher education worldwide, which has resulted in the proliferation of private higher education institutions (PHEIs). Within this context, issues of quality and quality assurance processes, guided by national policies and frameworks, have become increasingly important. In South Africa, programme accreditation is one form of external quality assurance. Literature reveals several gaps in the understanding of the management of quality assurance in the private higher education sector, and the topic of programme accreditation in relation to PHEIs in South Africa has received scant attention. The research question for this study was: How do PHEIs manage quality assurance as they engage in the process of programme accreditation in South Africa? Exploratory, qualitative research methodology was deemed the most appropriate for this study and twelve semi-structured interviews were conducted with quality assurance managers at ten PHEIs in Gauteng. The conceptual framework, adapted from Zaki and Zaki Rashidi (2013), lists eight parameters relevant to the management of quality assurance within PHEIs in South Africa. The findings of this study indicate a general lack of sound governance and management structures at PHEIs, an absence of institutional capacity, and academic leadership that is often deficient. The availability of relevant higher education resources within PHEIs remains a challenge. Concerning external quality assurance, the complexity of quality assurance and higher education legislation and various process-based challenges are some of the most common barriers for South African PHEIs. Recommendations are presented. / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2016. / Education Management and Policy Studies / M Ed / unrestricted

Today, the Web of Data evolved to a semantic information network containing large amounts of data. Since such data may stem from different sources, ranging from automatic extraction processes to extensively curated knowledge bases, its quality also varies. Thus, currently research efforts are made to find methodologies and approaches to measure the data quality in the Web of Data. Besides the option to consider the actual data in a quality assessment, taking the process of data generation into account is another possibility, especially for extracted data. An extraction approach that gained popularity in the last years is the mapping of relational databases to RDF (RDB2RDF). By providing definitions of how RDF should be generated from relational database content, huge amounts of data can be extracted automatically. Unfortunately, this also means that single errors in the mapping definitions can affect a considerable portion of the generated data. Thus, from a quality assurance point of view, the assessment of these RDB2RDF mapping definitions is important to guarantee high quality RDF data. This is not covered by recent quality research attempts in depth and is examined in this thesis. After a structured evaluation of existing approaches, a quality assessment methodology and quality dimensions of importance for RDB2RDF mappings are proposed. The formalization of this methodology is used to define 43 metrics to characterize the quality of an RDB2RDF mapping project. These metrics are also implemented for a software prototype of the proposed methodology, which is used in a practical evaluation of three different datasets that are generated applying the RDB2RDF approach.

An zwei sächsischen Lößstandorten wurden sorten- und fruchtfolgespezifische Anbauvergleiche zur Minderung des Befallsrisikos mit Ährenfusarium und nachfolgender Mykotoxinbildung durchgeführt. Die Ergebnisse dokumentieren den deutlichen Einfluss der Vorfrucht und der Minimierung von Ernterückständen auf das Fusariumrisiko. Die Ertragsdifferenz zur Rapsvorfrucht lag im Vergleich zu Mais und Winterweizen im Versuchsjahr 2007 zwischen 10 bis 18 dt/ha. Ein Anstieg der Risikofaktoren führte zu nachlassenden Wirkungsgraden bei den fungiziden Maßnahmen gegen Ährenfusariosen. Weder wenig anfällige Sorten noch Fungizidbehandlungen in der Blüte garantieren bei optimalen Infektionsbedingungen die Einhaltung der gesetzlich festgelegten Mykotoxinhöchstmenge. Gute Ergebnisse zeigten das im Projekt geprüfte Schnelltestverfahren zur Deoxynivalenolbestimmung sowie die Vorerntebemusterung.

In this research I investigate the problem of education quality at the faculties of Social Sciences at four Georgian Public Universities. The findings of research are derived through interviewing of professors and document analysis of Georgian legislation concerning higher education and European-level frameworks supporting the enhancement of education quality. I deal with the problem of quality using the mixture of theories. I divided researched topics in three parts: Ideological, Institutional and personal-level. The majority of theoretical claims were disproved in the local context of Georgia. Education quality and knowledge production are multi-faceted problems at Georgian Public Universities, Faculties of Social Sciences and it mainly is related to the scarce state resources allocated to HEIs in general in Georgia.

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The advent of democracy has witnessed radical changes in the demographic constitution of the learner population in schools. Many teachers now encounter classes that comprise learners from diverse racial, ethnic, religious and language backgrounds. How do these teachers ensure quality education in such a class of diverse learners? Accordingly, this research study set out to explore quality and diversity in a class of diverse learners with particular emphasis on the role of the teacher. The meta-theoretical paradigm that directed it was a combination of constructivism and interpretivism. The methodological paradigm employed a qualitative mode of inquiry and various sampling techniques to select the participants. Convenience sampling was used to select three schools, two classes per school and five learners per teacher, while purposive sampling were used to select two teachers per school. A mix of instruments was used to collect the data, such as semistructured interviews, observations, field notes and a researcher journal. Findings from this study were fivefold. First, the training that teachers received with regard to diversity is insufficient and does not prepare them to teach a class of diverse learners. Second, the role of the teacher is complex and requires them to fulfil more than one role at a time; even though some roles are neglected, the majority of teachers focus on the role of facilitator. More emphasis should be placed on the importance of the roles and how they can contribute to quality in education. Third, teachers must follow an asset-based approach in a class of diverse learners. By using difference as a resource and an asset, teachers will be able to encourage open class discussions, involve learners in the lesson, keep their attention and use this to promote their understanding about complex topics and terms. Fourth, teachers have to make certain adjustments to their teaching style to accommodate diverse learners. It is important for all teachers to examine their own attitudes towards teaching diverse learners in order to provide the best education possible. Finally, certain quality assurance methods are in place at schools, but just how appropriate they are is debatable. New approaches must be developed and utilized to meet the needs of the current social context in South Africa to ensure that quality teaching takes place at schools. / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2011. / Science, Mathematics and Technology Education / unrestricted

This thesis answers how to create an effective quality assurance method within software development, especially games development. The work has mainly consisted of interviews with employees and others within the same business as well as studies of literature. The thesis also describes how the new quality management method got management acceptance, how it was implemented, what happened and recommendations. The work was conducted in 2007 and the result in this report is still, eight years later, used by the company. / Denna rapport berättar hur man skapar en effektiv kvalitetssäkringsmetod inom mjukvaruutveckling, särskilt spelutveckling. Arbetet har i huvudsak bestått av intervjuer med företagets anställda såväl som andra inom samma bransch samt litteraturstudier. Rapporten beskriver även hur den nya kvalitetssäkringsmetoden förankrades i organisationen, hur den implementerades, vad som hände sen samt rekommendationer. Arbetet utfördes 2007 och såsom framgår i denna rapport används resultatet, åtta år senare, fortfarande av företaget.

Studien har sin bakgrund i förskolans förändrade uppdrag kring det naturvetenskapliga ämnet fysik och den bristande kvalitet på fysikundervisning som Skolinspektionens rapporter visat. Syftet med studien är att bidra med mer kunskap om vilka uppfattningar förskollärare har kring förskolans fysik och vilka likheter och skillnader som går att urskilja i dessa. I studien har fem informanter deltagit. Studien har genomförts med en fenomenografisk metodansats, kvalitativa intervjuer som metod för datainsamling och en fenomenografisk metod för databearbetning och analys. Resultatet visar att förskollärare vet vad fysik är men att det behövs ett förtydligande av förskolans fysikuppdrag. Förskollärare beskriver att det finns en känsla av att man måste redovisa arbetet, för att bevisa vad de arbetar i förskolan. Det beskrivs vara en stor brist på kompetensutveckling inom fysik och det kan vara en huvudorsak till den bristande kvalitet på fysikundervisning som framkommer i olika rapporter från förskolan. Förskollärare har många idéer om hur de kan utveckla verksamheten men upplever att det inte finns möjlighet att förverkliga dessa. För att förskolans uppdrag gällande fysik ska kunna bedrivas kvalitativt krävs en återkommande kompetensutveckling. Förskollärares önskan om en större resurstillgång bör tas i åtanke i relation till ekonomisk möjlighet. / The study has its background in the changed curriculum for the preschool regarding the scientific subject physics and the lack of quality of physics teaching that the Swedish Schools Inspectorate's reports have shown. The purpose of the study is to contribute with more knowledge about what perceptions preschool teachers have about preschool physics and what similarities and differences can be distinguished in these. Five preschool teachers participated in the study. The study was carried out with a phenomenographic method approach, qualitative interviews as a method of data collection and a phenomenographic method for data processing and analysis. The results show that preschool teachers know what physics is but that a clarification of the preschool´s physics mission is needed. Preschool teachers describe that there is a feeling that they must report their work, to prove what they work with in the preschool. A major lack of competence development in physics is described, and this may be the main reason of the lack of quality in physics teaching that appears in various reports from the preschool. Preschool teachers have many ideas of how to develop the occupation, but it is not possible to realize them. For the preschool's assignment regarding physics to be conducted qualitatively, a recurring competence development is required. Preschool teachers' desire for a greater supply of resources should be considered in relation to financial opportunity.