EXPERIENCES AND REFLECTIONS ON ‘QUALIS’

‘Qualis’, which means ‘what kind?’ is the Latin origin for the word ‘quality’ (Heyworth, 2013). In today’s competitive education sector, ‘quality’ has become an indispensable term. In line with the original meaning of ‘quality’, many contemporary institutions are trying to find the right ‘kind’ of scheme that will enable them to achieve quality. Amongst a variety of schemes, some institutions choose ‘accreditation’ to fast track improvement and effectiveness of their practices. While explaining why a particular accreditation scheme was chosen to encourage infrastructural change in the quest for quality in a large language institution in Cyprus, this presentation reviews some important, quality- related concepts and challenges. To share reflections on some thought provoking experiences in a case study that was conducted in the form of action research, the presentation benefits from the data collected through qualitative methods and narrative inquiry within an organizational culture torn between eastern and western influences. In the light of the experiences encountered during the study, the presenter discusses how accreditation as an educational change project can trigger organizational learning and improve quality and how important organizational culture is in the application of quality. It is hoped that findings from the case study will inspire language institutions that bear similar cultural characteristics and help them with their endeavors in achieving and sustaining quality.