Swedish study examines student representation in quality assurance

Updated Sep 10, 2026

Hiroko Take and Åsa Kettis’s 2026 paper examines the knowledge and skills students need to participate in quality assurance at Swedish universities.

What the study reports

The study draws on interviews with students, teachers and administrators. Its account of assessment literacy includes understanding the institutional setting, representing peers, preparing for meetings, contributing to discussions and working in partnership.

The authors describe participation, training and institutional encouragement as supports for developing these capabilities, alongside students’ existing knowledge of teaching and learning. It identifies challenges involving hierarchy, balancing cooperation with criticism, credible peer representation, language barriers and declining willingness to participate.

These are the authors’ reported interpretations. These interpretations do not establish the causal effectiveness of training or particular representative-support practices.

Limits on applying the findings

For a local discussion, teams could ask representatives what information they need before meetings and how they gather peers’ perspectives. These are practical questions suggested by the themes, not interventions whose effectiveness this briefing can verify.

Reference

Hiroko Take and Åsa Kettis (2026). Students’ assessment literacy in quality assurance of higher education institutions in Sweden: the perspectives of students, teachers and administrators. Quality in Higher Education. DOI: 10.1080/13538322.2026.2681275.