CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2016
| Author | Benas, Christopher Nex Bengson |
|---|---|
| Title | Between External and Internal Quality Management in a Federated University: A Phronetic Exploration of the National University of Ireland |
| Summary | The management of quality has deepened remarkably in the domain of higher education in recent decades. In this discourse, analysts demarcate between internal and external aspects to illuminate both policy and practice. These aspects have been overlaid on a continuum with external practices as said to be accountability-driven while internal mechanisms are considered to be more improvement-focused. A continuing unresolved debate is whether these parts may possibly work coherently and effectively together. Using a phronetic framework that considers issues of power, the case of an Irish university is utilized to examine value-rationalities and how these operate under a federated structure with a newly-created external agency. Documents and interviews reveal that notions of accountability and improvement work well together under the Irish quality model by having a focus on the unit level that is balanced with publicly accessible review reports and action plans. The tentative “exemplary knowledge” found, which privileges the expertise of peer reviewers, however, may be compromised by increased autonomy bestowed by recent legislation in Ireland. One key implication is focusing attention on advancing assessment methods in institutional quality offices in Ireland that may potentially re-evaluate the notion of autonomy on the unit level. |
| Supervisor | Lazerson, Marvin |
| Department | School of Public Policy MA |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2016/benas_christopher.pdf |
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