Mind the Quality Gap

: Quality Management Models for Higher Education in Further Education Colleges

Abstract

The purposeful, and ongoing critical consideration of the quality of higher education (HE), wherever this education takes place, might be regarded as essential. This exploratory study focuses on the development, effectiveness and sustainability of real-world quality management models (QMMs) for HE in FE. From 1997 colleges were to expand their HE provision focusing on the growth of sub-degree qualifications, and with this develop quality infrastructures for HE. This study aimed to undertake a critical analysis of models for quality management and the understanding of quality for HE in FE institutions. Interviews complemented by documents explored the quality activities of this setting with the use of NVivo. The emergent themes were interpreted through the concepts of complex adaptive systems (CAS) and the theoretical framework of social constructionism illuminating different perceptions for the understanding of QMMs. Envisioning quality management for HE in FE in this way resulted in an impression of quality as a middle culture that has not developed a sustainable way of being and with many underlying tensions. The findings considered QMMs as socially constructed, complex self-organising CAS that can adapt and evolve to survive. The root of their complexity appeared to be their dependency on both FE and HE. Each HE CAS is constructed through pre-existing local cultures resulting in diverse HE CAS. Conceivably it is this diversity and capacity for change that may allow their survival. Though despite these complex interdependencies allowing for their survival, at the same time, this study concludes that there may be too many challenges and uncertainties that question their sustainability. Recommendations are made to reduce the number of factors that challenge QMM in order to support their effectiveness and sustainability.

Date of Award	20 Aug 2021
Original language	English
Supervisor	Bridget Egan (Supervisor) & Judith McCullouch (Supervisor)