Evaluation and Quality Assurance in Higher Education in Greece and Finland: A Comparative Study

This dissertation aims at the analysis and interpretation of higher education policies in Finland and in Greece, taking into consideration the social, economic and political frameworks of these two countries and the influences from the European Union education policy. Thus, the development of policies of higher education evaluation and quality assurance in these two countries is investigated. At the same time, the role of the socio-economic and political frameworks and the extent to which European education policy has influenced these two countries towards the implementation of these policies, are taken into consideration. The argument of the dissertation is that similar policies of evaluation and quality assurance in higher education are implemented in these two countries. The major difference lies in the fact that in Finland, the policies of higher education evaluation and quality assurance are related mainly with the withdrawal of the welfare state, while in Greece their implementation is the result of the EU influences.