D. P. Dash

गहना कर्मणो गतिः (gahanā karmaṇo gatiḥ) | କର୍ମର ଗତି ବଡ଼ ଗହନ ଅଟେ | complex are the ways of action (Gītā, chap. 4, ver. 17)

Professor D. P. Dash
research educator, academic editor, slow professor ...
professor.dpdash[at]gmail.com | WhatsApp +91 99378 28816

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Saturday, July 14, 2018

Education Quality

Delivered a seminar on "Quality Assurance in Higher Education" at the new Odisha State Open University (OSOU), on 12 Jul 2018. It was attended by a small audience of university leaders and academic managers of OSOU from two locations, Bhubaneswar and Sambalpur (via video link). We discussed the inherent difficulty of defining quality for higher education and the current trends of thinking and practice in this domain. We used the notions of "graduate attributes," "best practice / next practice," "quality culture / audit culture," and "learner-centred education" to explore the challenges of quality assurance in the open and distance learning (ODL) context. I highlighted the importance of sustaining a conversation on these topics within the institution.

Finally, I concluded that quality remains a difficult concept and we need to remain open-minded about it, acknowledging the following:
  • Education quality is a moving target
  • Many interpretations of education quality
  • It is a complex idea – contextual and multidimensional
  • Still, a systematic approach is needed
  • Success is not guaranteed
  • Besides, there may be unintended consequences
  • Therefore, quality initiatives need continuous review from a systemic angle

Integrity Development

Delivered a seminar on "Integrity Development in Higher Education" at Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar (XIMB), on 3 Jul 2018. It was attended by a small audience of academics and research students. We discussed some of the contemporary challenges to academic integrity (e.g., the rise of "essay mills," "text spinning," "predatory publishing," etc.). I emphasised on the practical importance of focusing on "integrity development" (in distinction to integrity per se, borrowing from the work of the International Center for Academic Integrity), specifying the multilevel interventions required to enable and sustain such a focus. More particularly, I called for the following interventions:
  • Developing the regulatory framework
  • Informing and enabling stakeholders
  • Strengthening institutional governance mechanisms
  • Implementing awareness & development strategies
  • Embedding integrity in academic practice
  • Supporting research & scholarship on the subject