Whose Quality Conventions? The Application of Convention Theory in Higher Education

Overview & Synopsis

Internationally, demands for greater certainty over the quality of higher education are multiplying. This article argues that convention theory offers insights for considering quality in higher education in an increasingly market-based system. Examples from the Australian higher education system are used to show how quality conventions can be mapped at varying system levels and across varying actors and how the existing taxonomy of quality in higher education can be located in a wider social and economic framework. It is suggested that this approach assists in identifying those quality conventions which may become dominant across stakeholder groups. (Contains 2 tables and 5 notes.)