DEVELOPMENT OF INTERNAL QUALITY ASSURANCE INDICATORS OF FACULTY OF EDUCATION IN CAMBODIA

Abstract

The purpose of this research study was to develop a model of internal quality assurance indicators of faculty of education in Cambodia. The two specific objectives were 1) to construct a model of internal quality assurance indicators of faculty of education in Cambodia and 2) to validate the model of internal quality assurance indicators of the faculty. The sample included 3 respondent groups including 1) four experts of higher education and four stakeholders of faculty of education; 2) 800 teachers, staff, and students of faculty of education in the 2014 academic year; and 3) 11 associate deans of faculty of education and directors of regional teacher training centers in Cambodia. Three types of research instrument were used including the semi-structured interview form, questionnaire, and evaluation form. The descriptive statistics, content analysis, and confirmatory factor analysis were used in order to analyze the collected data. The results are concluded as follows: The model was composed of 6 dimensions and 22 sub-dimensions with 77 indicators. These six dimensions included 1) leadership; 2) mission, strategic planning, and finance; 3) educational programs; 4) quality of academic staff; 5) customers and support services; and 6) physical facilities. The model of internal quality assurance indicators of faculty of education in Cambodia fitted the empirical data and the six dimensions were important to ensure educational quality of faculty of education in Cambodia in that their factor loadings were statistically significant at the .01 level with the range from 0.583 to 0.936. Of the six dimensions, the most important to ensure educational quality was quality of academic staff, followed by educational programs; customers and support services; mission, strategic planning, and finance; physical facilities; and leadership which was of the least importance to ensure educational quality of the faculty. The model of internal quality assurance indicators were really suitable for faculty of education in Cambodia in that all the indicators strongly reflect the needs of the faculty and these indicators would be achieved at a high level when applied in the faculty.