Understanding the quality debate in education (original) (raw)

Global Perspectives on Quality in Education

Journal for Quality and Participation, 2018

This article, the first in a series of three articles written by the Quality in Education Think Tank of the International Academy for Quality, focuses on the meaning and scope of quality in education...

The Idea of Quality: Voicing the Educational

Higher Education Quarterly, 1992

What counts as quality is contested. The different views of quality generate different methods of assessing quality and, in particular, generate alternative sets of perfmance indicators (PIS). However, PIS are highly limited in their informational content, and have nothing directb to tell us about the quality of the educational processes. Given the contested character of 'quality', perform-

Building Quality in Education: Are International Standards Helpful?

Contemporary Education Dialogue, 2011

The purpose of this article is to look at the arguments which support and challenge international standards in the campaign to build quality education. It seeks to raise the question of how a comparative educational practice can be developed which is aware of itself; aware of its oppressive and exclusionary possibilities; and can pose the question of how it might enter the perilous waters of universalism and particularism without succumbing to the seductions of an abstracted internationalised order which has no relevance for the children of a particular time and space or is so narrowly particular that its children do not have the means to understand their location in a globalising world. The article begins with a quick summary of the results of the major assessment instruments that have come into being in the wake of the Jomtien and Dakar agreements. It moves to a discussion of what the critique of these assessment standards are and concludes with an examination of how alternative assessments might be approached.

On the Philosophy, History and Management of Quality in Education

2010

During the last two decades of the 20 th century, problems of quality in higher education were on the table of intensive discussions and organizational works were held to formalize new associations, councils, boards, networks, agencies, institutes, committees, commissions, etc. to be engaged in evaluating and policymaking in higher education quality. Massification of higher education, collapse of the socialist camp, rapid expansion of private and virtual universities and colleges, growth of cross-border mobility, and dominant globalization processes have increased the importance of quality assurance systems and accelerated the process of decision making by governments, intermediary and international bodies and the higher education system itself. The brief history and substance (the latter in addition to previous parts of the article) of quality evaluation and accreditation matters within higher education are given here mainly through tendencies, conceptions and principles, not under...

Quality in Education - Approaches and Frameworks

Ovidius University Annals: Economic Sciences Series, 2018

Having an essential role in attaining a country's economic development, education is one of the core services delivered by the government. However, the extension of the educational services delivered does not enhance the anticipated outcomes unless a certain quality norm is sustained. That is why it is vital to follow the enhancement of quality in all spheres of education. The notion of quality in education is not new, being a multidimensional concept. The paper analyzes existing approaches and frameworks in the area of quality in education, proposing an integrated model. This model is built on two levels (the quality of the educational system and the quality of educational institutions), it uses the management by objectives method and as the integrating factor the stages of the PDCA cycle.

Quality in Education -- reflections on its history and contemporary concerns

Abstract: This paper is the result of a quick desk study on the notion of Quality in Education, with specific reference to the Indian context. Unless stated otherwise, the term Education used in the paper refers to School Education, the institutionalized, universalized and organized form of learning for children. The paper begins with a conceptual and historical overview of the term, particularly in the context of the education of children, and looks at the various strands of influences that have given meaning and shape to it. Given the large scale efforts towards Universal School Education, there is a specific focus in the paper on quality in the context of equity, which is now an important consideration in any notion of quality. Further, the paper traces the key developments with respect to Quality Education in the Indian situation, presenting a critical overview of key developments with regard to policy and practice, and noting the emerging debates, issues and concerns. Finally, the paper ends with some concluding remarks, attempting to outline key concerns for policy and practice if quality is to become a central concern in the goal of Universal School Education.