Theoretical Reflection on the Quality Concepts of Higher Education

ZHOUTing-yongZHOUZuo-yu

Abstract： China now transits from a large-scale higher education country to a powerful higher education country， and during this period quality concept of higher education is still the core issue to be faced with. From a philosophical point of view to reflect on the quality concepts of higher education， the following four aspects should be focused. First， to clarify the foundations of the concept of "quality of higher education". On the one hand， the concepts of "higher education" and "quality" should not be neglected. On the other hand， "quality of higher education" is not simply the combination of the words "higher education" and "quality"， which requires us to return to the real meaning of "higher education" itself and to understand the "quality of higher education". We human beings have quite some identities and diversities which bring about some inherent tensions between the essential concepts and diversified definitions of the quality of higher education. Therefore， it needs to form a set of cumulative and essential definition of “quality”， and have a better understanding of other factors that have been neglected so far， at the same time， to expand common understanding of the conceptual framework of higher education quality. The second is to clarify the expression mechanism of different subjects on the quality concepts of higher education. For some questions like "who defines quality？ Who judges the quality？ Who is responsible for the quality？”， the answers should not be a single subject， nor multiple subjects， but the consultation of multiple subjects. The purpose of the consultation is to find a way out between ambiguity and differences， and to avoid the dilemma of formalism and anarchism. Based on the distance between different subjects and fields of higher education， we should define clearly among different subjects what duties each carries in the action of improving and enhancing the quality of higher education. The third is to reflect on the value of education， and to identify the content of the quality concepts of higher education focusing on "what kind of persons should be cultivated". The problem of valuation is the key part of higher education quality concept. The opposition， conflict and imbalance among humanistic and realistic educational values often lead to the reciprocal movement of educational practice. However， education values of humanism and realism do not completely oppose and estrange， they need to communicate and integrate with each other. First of all， on the basis of a good understanding of historicity， situationality， complexity and diversity of human beings， we should redefine what the purpose of higher education， and incorporate humanistic and realistic educational values. Secondly， we should reconstruct the quality concept of higher education focusing on relationship among “nature， society and human beings” from the Chinese traditional philosophy of "the harmony between human and the nature". The fourth is to explore the key issues of scientific evaluation of higher education. The evaluation of higher education is not only a technical problem， but also a philosophical one. Education evaluation is not only to judge facts and identify value， but also to create value. This value is realistic， but in the end， it is humanistic. It is the first thing to consider how education meets the needs of which the “learners” will survive， and its ultimate goal is to see whether education could support learners to seek the meaning of life and the formation of spiritual cultivation， so that learners will be able to have a free， rational and dignified life. It requires higher education evaluation to break through the barriers between technology and philosophy， so as to achieve the integration of "oneself and others"， "fact and value"， "means and purpose"， "process and result". In brief， the purpose of theoretical reflection on the quality concepts of higher education is to close the gap between "concept" and "action"， and to help forming a concept of quality of higher education which is scientific， practical， mutual， and creative.

Key words： higher education； quality concept； theoretical reflection； pluralistic consultation； humanism； realism； value creation