The Theory of Desire for Quality Product: A Phenomenological Approach to Construction of Teaching Excellence

Abstract

Purpose: The aim of this study was to demonstrate the elemental constructs of an emergent theory of teaching excellence that was grounded in the everyday lifeworld and lived experiences of practitioners of quality assurance of education actors about Teaching Excellence (TE) in Higher Education Institutions within Zambia. Design: Charmazian constructivist Grounded Theory Method was employed. Phenomenology as a philosophy and method guided this study and 29 participants were interviewed using criterion ‘I’ and maximum variation sampling. Findings: Two Theoretical thematic elements of Teaching Excellence emerged from the inquiry and these are Internal Related Teaching Excellence and External Related Teaching Excellence. The two were tied to one core category which is the desire for quality product. The core category “desire for quality product” entails producing a student with the attributes that make him or her fit to be granted the stated qualification to be accepted into the industry. This core category was the most proximal determinant of all behavioural teaching excellence acts. Originality: The theory linked to teaching excellence provides empirical contextual events and constructs of teaching excellence. Conclusion: The findings point to the fact that phenomenology is a potent research strategy that is well suited for quality assurance research and blends well with Charmazian Constructivist Grounded Theory Method. We seek to encourage quality assurance and teaching excellence scholars to think about the value of phenomenology when addressing their research questions by developing a better understanding of lived experiences.

Keywords: Substantive theory, teaching excellence, phenomenology, higher education institutions

DOI: 10.7176/JEP/14-31-05

Publication date: November 30^th 2023