External quality assurance policy enactment in Samoa
A Study in Relational Tension
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 4914625 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Tepora Wright (0000-0002-1373-0286, University of Waikato, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2022 |
| Volume | 44 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 151-165 |
| Publication date | 2022-03-04 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1360-080X • E-ISSN: 1469-9508 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/1360080x.2022.2041257 |
| OpenAlex | W4213180767 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 4 |
| References cited | 18 |
External quality assurance of higher education is possibly the most significant emergent policy within the higher education sector in recent times. This paper examines policy enactment in Samoa, highlighted in the relational tension between the national university and the national external quality assurance body. Research findings indicate that EQA policy enactment was characterised by tensions attributed to mutual distrust, uneven and unnegotiated power relationships, personality clashes at the decision-making level, and disagreement on policy ideas. I suggest that the reason for the drawn-out tension was due predominantly to inattention to the ethics of relationality which underpins Samoan social relations and the need to negotiate the vā in the policy enactment space. Moreover, the disconnect between quality assurance policy expectations and the contextual realities of a developing university was not addressed, further heightening policy tensions. Suggestions for reframing of EQA policy are put forward to support sustainable development of quality higher education in Samoa
Business · Cognitive reframing · Distrust · Economic growth · Economics · Education policy · Higher education · Higher education policy · Negotiation · Political science · Public relations · Quality (philosophy · Quality assurance · Samoan · Social science · Sociology · Evaluation and Performance Assessment · Higher Education Governance and Development · Higher Education Learning Practices · Law · Psychology · Public Administration · Social Psychology · Marketing
Policy failure and the policy-implementation gap
New directions in policy borrowing research
Talanoa vā
Quality Assurance in Higher Education
Decolonising P acific research, building P acific research communities and developing P acific research tools
Widening Access’ to higher education
Taxation Threat, Motivational Postures, and Responsive Regulation
Taking context seriously
| Citations per year | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2022 - 2026 (5) |
| Highly cited | No |