Improving Teaching and Learning in Higher Education: Can Learning Theory Add Value to Quality Review?

Abstract

The ongoing debate surrounding quality reviews in higher education continues to raise a number of issues that would benefit from further exploration and development. One of these concerns is the micro-level outcomes of the increasing use of externally imposed and implemented macro-level regulatory quality assurance systems in higher education (Brown 2004). Micro level in this chapter refers to the teaching/learning processes in tertiary institutions including curriculum planning, the interaction between teachers and students in the learning environment and the development of learning communities, among others. Macro-level refers to national/state higher education policies that affect tertiary institutions. Many questions remain unanswered about how micro-level, day-to-day activities associated with teaching and learning in higher education can be improved through macro-level quality reviews.