Quality assurance, legal reforms and the European higher education area in Spain.

Autor/in	Vidal, Javier
Titel	Quality assurance, legal reforms and the European higher education area in Spain.
Quelle	In: European journal of education, 38 (2003) 3, S. 301-313Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Link als defekt meldenVerfügbarkeit
Beigaben	Literaturangaben 17
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	online; gedruckt; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0141-8211; 1465-3435
Schlagwörter	Evaluation; Bildungssystem; Akkreditierung; Europäische Dimension; Qualitätsmanagement; Hochschulpolitik; Hochschulreform; Qualitätssicherung; Europäische Union; Europa; Spanien
Abstract	The term "evaluative state" has spread throughout European countries in the last two decades. In the mid-1980s, some countries started to develop their own quality assessment procedures for higher education institutions. This development was the consequence of a new attitude of governments towards the management of public business [Bologna Declaration]. The basic principle was to give more autonomy to institutions and ask for greater accountability. In the 1990s, most European countries had developed systems of quality assurance. As a consequence of almost two decades of activity, assessment of higher education has now become a common practice in most European countries. The article is also a 'country case'. Like in Germany, higher education in Spain also depends on regional governments and quality assurance matters are a shared responsibility among regional and central agencies. The Spanish higher education system is not familiar with accountability or assessment by tradition, but the legal reforms of the last two decades habe introduced this new culture. Some specific programmes habe been implemented by the government. The results have been positive and a new framework has emerged. The latest reform [Ley Organica de Universidades/Organic Law on Universities - LOU] that introduces accreditation [National Agency for Quality Assessment and Accreditation - ANECA] for official programmes, [the implementation of the European Credit Transfer System - ECTS] and the creation of a European Higher Education Area - EHEA force the redesigning of teaching activities. The combination of these elements is analysed in this article. The article describes the developments of quality assurance that have been, until now, an example of collaboration and consensus among the different parties involved in the process. (DIPF/ orig.)
Erfasst von	DIPF \| Leibniz-Institut für Bildungsforschung und Bildungsinformation, Frankfurt am Main
Update	2004_(CD)