Enhancement of Quality in Teaching and Learning: Implications to Ethiopian Private Higher Education

Abstract

Autonomy and accountability are being newly implemented within Ethiopian higher education. The focus on academic accountability causes changes in higher education traditional teaching practices. The changes are not just in the substance of what is being taught, but more significantly, in the views about and the ways, in which it should be taught, learnt and evaluated. In response to academic accountability, higher education institutions need to revise their approach to learning and be committed to the improvement of their instructional methodologies. One possible path for improving the quality of education lies in the application of the ideas of quality enhancement to the teaching and learning process. Quality enhancement is an effective tool for improving instructional methods at colleges and universities. It is essential for staying competitive and for continuous improvement. The new context of autonomy and accountability brings more duties and responsibilities that will require a system of quality assurance and enhancement. Private, higher education institutions need to develop their own quality assurance mechanisms in order to guarantee quality service to their stakeholders. They should focus on quality enhancement in order to provide their students with quality education, as well as to ensure market share and a return on educational investments. The primary goal of quality enhancement in private higher education shall be the improvement of student learning. Any business tells that if you want to improve the quality of your service, you need to consider the views of the customer. In the case of higher education institutions, of course, the central focus is on improvement of student learning. Each private higher education institution needs to be committed to quality assurance and enhancement. This paper presents main features of quality enhancement for the continuous improvement of teaching and learning and provides a conceptual framework. It discusses strategies to ensure quality of education that has a positive impact on student learning. The paper also identifies good pedagogical practices and better ways of instruction that are important for improving the quality of education in higher education. The paper makes recommendations that might help to promote the implementation of quality enhancement in teaching and learning within Ethiopian private higher education.