ABSTRACT

This chapter reports on two research projects: one project investigates senior academics’ perspectives on quality in Czech and English higher education and the other project examines senior academics’ perspectives on internationalisation and quality in English, Australian and Czech higher education. The research draws on previous research indicating that senior academics (such as heads of schools and associate deans academic) play significant roles in instigating and implementing change in higher education (Anderson & Johnson, 2006; Bell, 2004; Green & Mertova, 2010). There is also an expectation that senior academics have generally more experience in academic practice and may offer broader, better-informed opinions. The projects are brought together here because they focus on senior academics’ perspectives and utilise the same methodology; and as the second project stems from the first. The second project was prompted by the attitudes of a number of Czech academics who viewed quality enhancement as intrinsically linked with internationalisation in their particular cultural context. As the second project is unfinished, this chapter does not outline substantial findings, but points to some issues and concerns voiced by academics with implications for academic practice.