Developing a national quality culture for further and higher education in a micro-state : the case of Malta

Abstract

In July 2015 Malta inaugurated its National QA Framework for Further and Higher Education to foster a comprehensive quality culture in the sector. This is the first QA framework within the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) that covers further, higher and adult formal educational provision. It is also significant because it presents an alternative to the neo-liberal New Public Management paradigm of QA in higher education that is dominant internationally. Indeed, the Framework is based on the 2015 version of the European Standards and Guidelines (ESG) which focus on quality enhancement rather than accountability, enriched with elements from the EU system of QA for vocational education (EQAVET). The rhetorical positioning of the Framework as well as its overarching nature were possible because of Malta’s characteristics as a former colony and as a micro-state. This paper discusses how Malta’s characteristics informed the development of Malta’s QA Framework, and how the Framework itself was developed and implemented.e