Discourses on Quality Assurance: A Critique of their Role in the Construction of the European Higher Education Area

Abstract

This paper aims to critically examine the influence of the discourse on quality assurance in shaping the European Higher Education Area (EHEA). By acknowledging that the Bologna Process has utilized quality as a driving force behind several reforms, this article delves into the analysis of the narratives that have emerged during this process and the policies it has engendered. Through this exploration, the paper highlights the challenges encountered in defining the concept of educational quality within the framework of converging European higher education systems. On one hand, our investigation identifies a series of issues that derive from granting excessive autonomy to quality assurance agencies. This predicament arises from a transformation in the state model, propelled by the rationale of neoliberal governance and the adoption of New Public Management principles, which redefines the landscape of public administration. On the other hand, our analysis delves into the intricacies of trying to define the true essence of educational quality—an elusive notion that lacks clarity and resists straightforward conceptualization. Given its polysemic nature, the concept of educational quality becomes inherently contestable and is perpetually entangled in debates and revisions. The paper concludes by examining how this emerging ‘culture of quality’, prevalent in the European Higher Education context, has significantly influenced the perception of universities and the research practices of academic faculty. Within this context, our analysis highlights that any evaluation of teaching and research quality is informed by a framework that guides scientific and theoretical endeavours. In particular, and from the perspective of current knowledge society and economy, such a framework has increasingly taken on an inherently economic nature.