Perspectives on Quality Improvement in Teaching and Research in Scottish Universities

Abstract

蘇格蘭地區的大學在世界高等教育評鑑中一直都有不錯的評比表現，本研究希望深入了解蘇格蘭地區各大學教師對於實施品質保證制度在教學與研究等領域的影響之看法，以利於我國未來高等教育評鑑制度之發展。為了達成前述目的，本研究先行蒐集相關文獻資料，針對蘇格蘭地區的大學品質保證制度的實施內涵及其影響進行探討。並採取實地訪談法來蒐集實證資料，共選取二所大學，每所大學各從教育學院中選取四位重要成員，以了解他們對於高等教育品質保證制度在教學及研究的看法。研究發現，來自不同學校文化背景的教師對於品質保證實施的看法有著顯著不同的觀點與看法。同時亦發現，目前蘇格蘭所採取的品質保證制度有助於提升其大學教學與研究之發展。

The case-study design was based on two contrasting Scottish universities. The two universities-one old， one new- were chosen to explore the perceptions of key staff regarding the impact of QA systems on both teaching and research in their respective institutions. Within each of the two institutions， key staff (four in each university) most of whom worked in similar education academic units (Faculties or Schools) were interviewed on a 1:1 basis.The study showed that perspectives on quality improvement arrangements were significantly shaped by the historical and cultural background of the institution. The findings demonstrated that staff in the ancient university perceived the quality assurance systems in Scotland on the whole to helpful in improving the development of teaching and research， whilst staff in the new university were significantly sceptical of the value， not only of the previous QA arrangements but also of the new procedures， but to a lesser extent.