QUALITY ASSESSMENT OF LEARNING IN HIGHER EDUCATION: THE ECA08 MODEL AS BASIS FOR ANALYSIS OF EVIDENCE ON TEACHING-LEARNING QUALITY IN HIGHER EDUCATION

Abstract

Establishing the quality of learning in higher education is in no way an easy matter. As with any kind of evaluation estimation, it fundamentally depends on the benchmarks used and how it is done, which makes the idea into a complex and controversial concept due to the various different approaches that are possible. Thus, raising the questions of “what quality” and “from whom” is a compelling starting point. In terms of the approach to the idea of quality considered here, there are two aspects of consideration that are of interest, the students’ perception and the evidence provided by research on the qualitative nature of teaching and learning processes. The LEQ/AQA08 instrument proved to be a highly effective analytical tool regarding important aspects in teaching and learning and provided evidence of the possibilities of consolidating and enhancing crucial aspects of this relationship in Higher Education. According to the gathered results, this kind of student’s survey based on a set of well defined teaching and learning principles could be a promising alternative for a transformative quality of the analyzed programmes.