Shaping quality accreditation as a field of study. A systematic review of international research (1998-2016)

Abstract

This article conducts a systematic review of research published in indexed journals on higher education quality accreditation for the period 1998-2016. It identifies the positioning of accreditation in the research agenda by country, region and institution; it also recognizes eight academic communities formed from collaborative networks. From Bourdieu's theory, it analyzes the recognition of university agents about accreditation as a game worth playing to maintain and improve the position within the field of higher education. The authors allege that the objective conditions that circumscribe these processes are related to indicators of government plans and demands of international funding agencies, which puts academic practice at risk. They conclude that accreditation is unnecessary for the achievement of educational quality and propose challenges for the transformation of this type of policies.