ERIC Number: EJ807536
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2008-Jul
Pages: 17
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1353-8322
EISSN: N/A
How Can Evaluation Fail? The Case of Italian Universities
Minelli, Eliana; Rebora, Gianfranco; Turri, Matteo
Quality in Higher Education, v14 n2 p157-173 Jul 2008
This paper deals with the potential failure of evaluation in Italian universities and shows how it risks slipping towards ritual behaviour. The study uses empirical data collected with a closed answer questionnaire and a series of open interviews with top-level university representatives and evaluators to examine the real and potential influence of six critical factors that literature indicates as being responsible for the failure of evaluation systems. The three most significant elements shown by our data are internal governance, which is disinclined to use evaluation output; the presence of conflicts of interest among evaluators; and the limited scope of the methodologies used for producing effective evaluation output. In conclusion, the paper gives some indications for preventing and keeping at bay crisis phenomena and the degeneration of evaluation. (Contains 3 tables and 1 note.)
Descriptors: Prevention, Evaluators, Conflict of Interest, Foreign Countries, Institutional Evaluation, Universities, Questionnaires, Interviews, Administrators, Governance, Educational Quality, Quality Control
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Italy
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A