Spanners in the Works: Quality Professionals in Irish Higher Education

Abstract

In the context of the debate as to the future of Irish higher education, the purpose and identity of emerging professional roles such as quality offices and education developers that straddle both the academic and central administrative divide remains unclear. Despite the existence of a prolific body of literature on quality in higher education, the perspective of those required to implement quality assurance (QA) policies has been missing until very recently. For the first time, the regulated higher education sector in Ireland is guided by the same statutory core quality assurance guidelines. This affords an opportunity to explore the role and perspective of QA professionals across the sector as they navigate the boundary between multiple professional cultures and an increasingly market led and regulatory bound education system. A combination of survey and 39 semi structured interviews is used, adopting a case study approach to allow comparability across the degree awarding body, institute of technology and private/independent sectors of Irish higher education. Using professions, social identity and boundary spanning theories, Anteby, Chan and Di Benigno’s (2016) framework of occupational analysis is adapted to answer questions on the professional identity of quality professionals, how they navigate different cultures within their organisation and if a distinct profession is emerging.