A Discourse Analytical Approach Focusing on Quality in Higher Education

Background: Health professions education (HPE) is increasingly framed as a matter of social responsibility and accountability. This study examined how discourses of Total Quality Management (TQM), Quality Assurance (QA), and Quality Culture (QC) construct the meaning of quality in HPE. Methods: A Foucauldian discourse analysis (DA) approach was conducted to examine how the discourses of TQM, QA, and QC construct meanings of quality in higher education (HE). Academic articles were systematically identified in Education Resources Information Center, and discursive patterns and power-knowledge relations were compared within and across the 3 frameworks. Results: QC was portrayed as a participatory, value-driven approach, contrasting with QA's emphasis on external control and compliance. TQM framed quality as a strategic resource for competitiveness, mobilizing internal power toward market advantage. Conclusions: Quality discourses function as regimes of truth that shape governance and institutional priorities. Hybrid models combining QC's cultural foundation with QA's regulatory mechanisms may support socially responsible quality development in HE and HPE.