Research on Internal Quality Assurance Mechanisms of Higher Engineering Education: Fundamental Connotation, Theoretical Investigation and Model Construction

Abstract Abstract The program accreditation of engineering education has globally become the main model of quality assurance in higher engineering education. In essence, the program accreditation of engineering education is an external mechanism for the quality assurance in higher engineering education. Under the guidance of external quality assurance mechanism, colleges and universities within different countries and regions actively explore the practice of quality assurance in engineering education, and promote all stakeholders to pay more attention to the practice and theoretical research of internal quality assurance in higher engineering education. Thus, this study firstly combines the research results of domestic and foreign scholars on the quality assurance mechanisms of higher education, gives the definition and analyzes the fundamental connotation of the internal quality assurance mechanisms of higher engineering education. Secondly, it examines the internal quality assurance mechanisms of higher engineering education based on Total Quality Management Theory, Outcome-based Education Theory, Educational Mechanism Theory and Stakeholder Theory, with the practice of ABET as a case study. Finally, it tries to construct the logical model of the internal quality assurance mechanisms of higher engineering education, hoping for providing an explanatory framework for the internal quality assurance of higher engineering education. Key words Engineering Education Quality Assurance Program Accreditation Continuous Quality Improvement Mechanism