The notion of "quality as transformation" has been widely used in the higher education sector. However, both quality and transformation are elusive terms. There is little research exploring how quality could be equated to transformation in the learning process. This paper will provide an insight into the relationship between quality and…

This study of a large sample (n = 3035) examined relationships between study-related burnout and components of the teaching-learning environment, achievement motivation and the perceived meaning of life. The overall model, tested with structural equation modelling, revealed that the factor of the teaching-learning environment correlated with both…

This study investigates the relationship between the work conditions in higher education work settings, the academic staff's strategies for handling excessive workload and impact on well-being and work-life balance. The results show that there is a risk that staff in academic work places will start using compensatory coping strategies to deal…

A Chinese translation of the 100-item Inventory of Learning Styles (ILS) is shortened as a 60-item instrument (which comprises 20 three-item scales) by removal of items that make the least contribution to the ILS scales from both alpha value and factor loading perspectives. The reliability and validation for administering the resultant 60-item ILS…

This article discusses the principles developed to assure the quality of international ranking practices for higher education, the so-called Berlin Principles, and the role given to them in the higher education community. While the principles are generally regarded as proper quality assurance principles, they are problematic both in their content…

The underlying paradigms that influence research on quality have remained alarmingly under-researched; this article analyses the constraints that a technical-rational approach for the study of quality in higher education imposes. Technical rationality has been the dominant paradigm that shapes research on quality in higher education.…

This article presents the results of research conducted over the period 2010-2012 in Estonia with the aim of identifying the expectations for the quality of higher education by principal parties in higher education, the state, the market and academia, as well as describing the differences and similarities in their expectations. The findings show…

This article considers the overall success of the quality movement in the context of questions about the political status and role of quality assurance agencies. These agencies have gained a significant degree of legitimacy and respect among major stakeholders but the political reality is that their long-term sustainability depends on whether…

The continued importance of university rankings has only served to fuel the growth of the "world-class" university movement. There is a growing impression that, in a globalised and interconnected world, no country can do without a world-class university. No country, that is, except Brazil. While Brazil has the resources necessary to…

While much research on quality assurance in higher education has centred on issues related to the impact on teaching and learning and academic staff, there is a significant gap in the area of quality assurance and academic governance. Within Australia the roles of university academic boards (also known as academic senates or faculty senates) have…

This study utilised concept mapping software to aid interpretation of the qualitative data from student satisfaction surveys. The analysis revealed differences in student priorities and attitudes across the three years of an undergraduate degree. First-year students were more concerned with social and academic integration and demonstrated an…

This article applies the theoretical framework of principal-agent theory in order to better understand the complex organisational relationships emerging between entities invested in the establishment and monitoring of cross-border international branch campus medical schools. Using the key constructs of principal-agent theory, information asymmetry…

There is wide agreement that problem-based learning is a key strategy to promote individual abilities for "learning how to learn". This paper presents the main contributions that reflective journals and the problem-based learning approach can make to foster professional knowledge and quality learning in higher education. Thirty-six…

Internationally, quality assurance schemes persist despite long-standing dissatisfaction and critique of their impact and outcomes. Adopting a critical systems perspective, the article explores the relationships between the knowledge, power and meanings that stakeholder groups bring to the design and implementation of quality assurance systems.…

The purposes of this research were to examine medical education accreditation practices around the world, with special focus on the Caribbean, and to explore the association between medical school accreditation and graduates' examination performance. In addition to other requirements, graduates of international medical schools seeking to…