The study investigated the impact of accreditation, a process of external quality
assurance (EQA) on university libraries in Kenya. The study demonstrated that
globalization and commercialization had affected higher education systems. An
increasing emphasis was towards outcomes of higher education and evaluators were
looking for new data and indicators that demonstrate that students have mastered
specific objectives because of their education.
The philosophy of pragmatism formed the basis of this study and the mixed research
method was used for data collection. This study adopted a sequential mixed model
design and data was collected in two phases. Questionnaires and interview survey
methods were used to collect both quantitative and qualitative data for this study. A total
of 27 (87%) of the 31 respondents from private and public universities completed and
returned the questionnaires. Based on the findings from the questionnaire survey five
heads of university libraries were interviewed.
The findings of the study established that accreditation had made significant impacts on
university libraries in Kenya. It was evident that the university librarians did not
undertake self-assessment as a step prior to the accreditation visit. The standards used
for evaluation of university libraries only covered inputs. The types of measures
collected were only descriptive inputs of the libraries. From the findings, it was evident
that there was no collection of statistics nationally. It was also evident from the findings
that there were no specific performance indicators to facilitate self-assessment and
benchmarking between university libraries.The study recommended that CHE should also advocate the use of self-evaluation in
university libraries and evaluate university libraries based on evidence of normative
practice, hence the need for revision of the standards. The standards should focus on
outputs and outcomes of the library programs as primary indicators of quality. The study
further recommended that university libraries in Kenya adopt the use of standardized
instruments for data collection such as LibQual. In order to develop a culture of
assessment in university libraries in Kenya the study recommended a performance
evaluation model with a set of nine criteria including 26 indicators. / Information Science / D. Litt. (Information Science)
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:unisa/oai:uir.unisa.ac.za:10500/5025 |
| Date | 06 1900 |
| Creators | Odera-Kwach, Beatrice Achieng |
| Contributors | Ngulube, P. (Prof.) |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | 1 online resource (xix, 272 leaves) |
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