Institutional evaluation in the Mercosur: transformation or control?

In a globalised setting, the centrality of institutional evaluation for qua lity education and production of knowledge has been emphasised in education al reforms. This paper discusses theoretical concepts and practical implica tions involved in institutional evaluation as developed in contemporary hig her education policies in two countries of the Mercosur block - Argentina a nd Brazil. In a critical, intercultural framework, it argues that homogenis ed evaluation practices, which are blind to the sociocultural diversity of the Mercosur countries, do little to improve the institutions' overall qual ity of education, From the evidence of the study, some potentialities and l imits of institutional evaluation to promote education for equity and trans formation are presented. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved .