Evaluating Evaluators

Dr. Susan Harris-Huemmert completed her DPhil at the University of Oxford (New College) in 2009.

How do evaluators of higher education go about their work? How are groups of evaluators put together? How do they reach consensus on the criteria of quality in the discipline or degree programme under examination? What problems do evaluators encounter and how do they resolve them? Susan Harris-Huemmert investigates these questions in this detailed case study of an evaluation commission that inspected education departments in the German state of Baden-Württemberg (universities and teacher-training colleges) during 2003/2004. This work takes up not only topics germane to evaluators of higher education, but also illustrates the politics and contextual issues surrounding the discipline of education in Germany during the first decade of the 21st century.

The book will be of interest to education researchers, students of evaluation, peer reviewers and those working in higher education quality assurance.

Investigating the Evaluation of Higher Education in Germany

How do evaluators of higher education go about their work? How are groups of evaluators put together? How do they reach consensus on the criteria of quality in the discipline or degree programme under examination? What problems do evaluators encounter and how do they resolve them? Susan Harris-Huemmert investigates these questions in this detailed case study of an evaluation commission that inspected education departments in the German state of Baden-Württemberg (universities and teacher-training colleges) during 2003/2004. This work takes up not only topics of interest to evaluators of higher education, but also illustrates the politics and contextual issues surrounding the discipline of education in Germany during the first decade of the 21st century.

Aus dem Inhalt:
Evaluation and Quality in German Higher Education - The Chronology of the Evaluation - The Roles of Individuals and Their Work Ethics - Establishing Evaluation Criteria - Organisational Issues and Problems - Developments in German HE Quality Assurance since 2004