HIGHER EDUCATION POLICY-BUILDING IN
THE KURDISTAN REGION OF IRAQ:
PERCEPTIONS OF UNIVERSITY
REPRESENTATIVES
Namam Palander
Master of Arts
Sociology in Education
Comparative, International and Development Education
IRAQ’S EDUCATION SYSTEM
DURING SADDAM’S REGIME
IRAQ’S EDUCATION SYSTEM AFTER
SADDAM’S REGIME
1.
In the 1970s to early 1980s: Iraq’s
education system was recognized as
one of the best in the Middle East
1.
After the US-led coalition in 2003, Iraq
was transformed into a unified federal
democracy that is market oriented
2.
In the 1980s to late 1990s: Iraq’s
education was devastated by different
wars
2.
Democratic process began in 2005 a
positive period in Kurdistan Region
1.
Kurdistan has successfully created its
own autonomous regional government
(KRG) building the foundation for
economic growth, infrastructure,
governance & private sector
2.
A new Higher Education policy was
developed in 2010 and was implemented
in 2011
3.
Saddam enforced one-single curricular
system with little transparency,
democracy or accountability
1.
Forced students and academics to
follow his political ideology, philosophy
and leadership  Many professors
fled the country in the 1990s
Research Goal
• Examining the perceptions and operational assumptions
of university representatives with regard to the new
higher education policy-making in Kurdistan. It explores
the policy’s first priority, the aim to bridge the gap
between quality and quantity in higher education
• This will help identify what type of quality culture in
higher education is being encouraged and if it will enable
higher education to serve as a bridge for Kurdistan to the
global knowledge economy
Reforming Teaching to Ensure
Quality
Source: MoHESR-KRG, 2010
Sub-Questions
1. How was the quality of higher education during Saddam
Hussein’s regime? How different is it now?
2. How is the new quality culture promoted within
institutions of higher education? What are the main
elements of such a culture?
3. How do university representatives react to the new
quality policy that aims to reform teaching to achieve
quality through quality assurance? Do they adopt, resist
or make and shape this quality policy and these quality
initiatives?
Methodology
• Fieldwork was conducted in one of the universities in the
Kurdistan Region (UKR) from April to June 2012
• UKR: the first university to implement the quality
assurance procedures
• This is a mixed-methods case study
Methods
1. First interview  The Director of Quality Assurance
from the Ministry of HE
2. Second set of interviews  Nine university
representatives selected from UKR
3. Survey  Administrated to a random sample of 305
faculty members that faithfully reflected those in the
whole population of 1460, within a 30% range
Findings: Director of QA
• QA initiatives are implemented in order to end
conventional teaching methods, update resources &
meet the demands of the market economy
• The Ministry faced many challenges and criticisms from
the university representatives about the program
• Director views quality in terms of excellence, achieving
high academic standards, value for money, judged
against return on investment, and as a transformation
process
Findings: Interview and Survey
perceptions of university representatives on quality teaching
Question
Interview
Survey
Quality of
education
during
Saddam
 Infrastructure and academic
life devastated by wars
70% of participants began
teaching after 2003
 Many fled the country in
1990s, but returned after the
changes
Quality of Education before
2003: 30% said it was above
average & 39% said it was
average
Majority support changes 
believe in developing quality in
HE in order to accommodate to
the world changes in science &
market demands
After 2003: 31% said it is
above average & 34% said it is
average
Findings: Interview and Survey
perceptions of university representatives on quality teaching
Question
Interview
Survey
Support of
quality policy
and the
initiatives
 Support QA procedures,
but less supportive of the
management structure and
process, arguing that it is
centralized
 54% support new
quality culture
 18% support the
implementation and
management process
Findings: Interview and Survey
perceptions of university representatives on quality teaching
Question
Interview
Survey
Focus of the
quality
teaching:
Economic
integration
vs. political
and cultural
cohesion?
QA is more concerned with
economic integration  The process is
created only to serve the market
needs
 Different than
interview result, as
44% believe that
quality teaching
focuses on economic
integration and political
cohesion
 Believe reforms on teaching that
are imposed on the basis of external
demands do not reflect the cultural
and historical context of UKR
Findings: Interview and Survey
perceptions of university representatives on quality teaching
Question
Interview
Survey
If QA standards are
addressing the
recurring issues in HE
such as teaching,
curriculum, institutional
autonomy, academic
freedom, etc.?
 More concentrated on
teaching and curriculum
57% selected
teaching and 50%
selected curriculum
 Region has not reached
the level of modernization
and progress founded in
Western countries
Findings: Interview and Survey
perceptions of university representatives on quality teaching
Question
Interview
Survey
Issues with QA
Evaluation tools:
student feedback,
external
evaluators,
continuing
education, peerreview, teacher’s
portfolio , selfassessment
Majority are for all
except strongly opposing
student feedback,
external assessors &
peer-review
Parallel findings as the
interview results:
 44% agreed to selfassessment
 32% supported student
feedback
 22% supported peer-review
 34% supported external
assessors
 43% favoured continuing
education
Findings: Interview and Survey
perceptions of university representatives on quality teaching
Question
Interview
Survey
Curriculum
Development: more
focused on teaching or
research?
More focused on
teaching
34% selected
teaching as the
main focus of the
new curriculum 
47% said it
concentrates on
teaching & research
Have you received
professional
development training?
Has it shifted your
traditional teaching
methods?
 Few received teacher
training, thus traditional
teaching methods were
not shifted
 59% received
training
Findings: Interview and Survey
perceptions of university representatives on quality teaching
Would institutional
autonomy maintain good
quality education?
 Institutional
autonomy should be
established immediately
since the Ministry takes
long time to review their
comments and
suggestions
 No faculty autonomy
in program planning
 78% said yes
 60.1% faculty or
department are not
autonomous in their
program planning
Discussion: Conceptual Framework
• What does quality education means to university
representatives?
– Newton’s (2007) formal meanings of ‘quality’ in the
early 1990s to situated perceptions of ‘quality’ of frontline academics in 2012
Discussion: Conceptual Framework
• Used Harvey and Stensaker’s (2008) Weberian idealtypes of quality culture to understand the reality of quality
culture for faculty members and the Ministry of HE
• Model’s two dimensions: if individual behaviour is
group-controlled or if it is prescribed by external
rules and regulations
• Weberian ideal-types of quality culture: responsive,
reactive, regenerative and reproductive modes
The Ministry of HE: Regenerative Mode
•
•
•
•
•
Quality culture is internally established
Created its own internal regeneration process
Accountability
Offer different learning opportunities
Different methods of evaluation
Faculty Members: Reactive
Mode
• Lack of involvement with the external demands
• Hesitant to accept most forms of quality evaluation
• Favour opportunities where action is connected to
reward
• Quality culture is externally constructed, directed and
imposed
• The Ministry has complete ownership
Conclusion
• Majority of the university representatives support the
new quality policy but oppose the management process
• Rigid centralization with some political interference are
identified as central issues embedded in the
management process
Major Changes
Needed
• Policy framework: state centric or neoliberal model?
– New policy: a mix of neoliberal and neoconservative
principles
• Lack of clear definition of “quality”