Quality in Education: Competing Concepts
TL;DR: In this article, the authors argue that this opposition is mistaken and that equality itself requires a nuanced approach which reflects the quality of education as an involvement in the long-term growth of the person.
Abstract: Since the 1990s, programmes aimed at universalising elementary eduction in India have increasingly dichotomised ‘quality’ and ‘equality’ and heightened, a view of education which is essentially instrumental. The paper argues that this opposition is mistaken and that equality itself requires a nuanced approach which reflects the quality of education as an involvement in the long-term growth of the person. An example of how a school may be knowledgeably structured for educational quality, given the social reality of entrenched gender inequality, is discussed.
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TL;DR: In this paper, a synthesis of studies carried out in 18 countries to identify contributions of education for sustainable development (ESD) to quality education is presented, and five common questions were used to evaluate the impact of these studies.
Abstract: This research is a synthesis of studies carried out in 18 countries to identify contributions of education for sustainable development (ESD) to quality education. Five common questions were used fo...
189 citations
01 Sep 2010
TL;DR: The authors examines progress in, and policies for, access to elementary education over the past 60 years, the role played by political factors in the process of policy formulation and implementation and the drivers and inhibitors of the implementation of reforms in elementary education in recent years in India.
Abstract: This monograph examines progress in, and policies for, access to elementary education over the past 60 years, the role played by political factors in the process of policy formulation and implementation and the drivers and inhibitors of the implementation of reforms in elementary education in recent years in India. Drawing on interviews and documentary sources, the monograph analyses the growth in central direction and international support for elementary education alongside the parallel and at times countervailing trend towards decentralisation and community participation. It outlines the tensions between agendas focused on expansion, quality improvement, human rights and economic development that led to the legal enactment in 2009 of the Right to Education. Overall, political will is found to be an important driver of progress while corruption, resistance by vested interests and the general condition of poverty in rural areas are among the key inhibitors.
36 citations
01 Jan 2015
TL;DR: Part of the Curriculum and Instruction (CIACE) is part of the IACE-BOWSEALL (Curriculum, Social Inquiry, Educational Administration and Supervision, Educational Methods Commons, Educational Psychology Commons, International and Comparative Education Commons, Online and Distance Education, Other Education, Special Education and Teaching Commons, and Teacher Education and Professional Development Commons.
Abstract: Follow this and additional works at: http://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_IACE-browseall Part of the Curriculum and Instruction Commons, Curriculum and Social Inquiry Commons, Educational Administration and Supervision Commons, Educational Methods Commons, Educational Psychology Commons, International and Comparative Education Commons, Online and Distance Education Commons, Other Education Commons, Special Education and Teaching Commons, and the Teacher Education and Professional Development Commons
31 citations
Dissertation•
01 Jan 2018
27 citations
Cites background from "Quality in Education: Competing Con..."
...Despite this, school quality debates in India in recent years ‘have been steeped in a neoliberal perspective on the political economy’ (Kumar, 2010), dominated by a discourse of efficiency and ‘bang for the buck’ (ibid....
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...In line with this global trend, education policy in India has also seen the rise of discourses that champion private sector ‘efficiency’ over government provision, which has been interpreted by some as reflecting an alignment with a pro-market, neoliberal ideology (Kumar, 2010)....
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01 Jan 2013
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigate quality in learning in higher education in Rwanda by focusing on students' learning and their employability, which allows for an understanding of key characteristics of key learners.
Abstract: The aim of the thesis is to investigate quality in learning in higher education in Rwanda by focusing on students’ learning and their employability. This focus allows for an understanding of key ch ...
23 citations
References
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Book•
01 Jan 1975
TL;DR: In this article, an introduction to school curriculum research and development is presented. But this is not a comprehensive overview of the curriculum research process, as it is not suitable for the general public.
Abstract: Intended for teachers and students, this is an introduction to school curriculum research and development.
3,243 citations
"Quality in Education: Competing Con..." refers background in this paper
...According to this theory and the pedagogic advice it offers, learning is something that can be planned, predicted and accurately measured once it has occurred (Stenhouse, 1975)....
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Book•
05 Mar 2009TL;DR: The "The Spirit Level" as mentioned in this paper is a study of social and environmental problems in a more equal and unequal society, and it is shown that many of these problems are more likely to occur in a less equal society.
Abstract: Large inequalities of income in a society have often been regarded as divisive and corrosive, and it is common knowledge that in rich societies the poor have shorter lives and suffer more from almost every social problem. This groundbreaking book, based on thirty years' research, demonstrates that more unequal societies are bad for almost everyone within them - the well-off as well as the poor. The remarkable data the book lays out and the measures it uses are like a spirit level which we can hold up to compare the conditions of different societies. The differences revealed, even between rich market democracies, are striking.Almost every modern social and environmental problem - ill-health, lack of community life, violence, drugs, obesity, mental illness, long working hours, big prison populations - is more likely to occur in a less equal society. The book goes to the heart of the apparent contrast between the material success and social failings of many modern societies. "The Spirit Level" does not simply provide a key to diagnosing our ills. It tells us how to shift the balance from self-interested 'consumerism' to a friendlier and more collaborative society. It shows a way out of the social and environmental problems which beset us and opens up a major new approach to improving the real quality of life, not just for the poor but for everyone. It is, in its conclusion, an optimistic book, which should revitalise politics and provide a new way of thinking about how we organise human communities.
2,387 citations
"Quality in Education: Competing Con..." refers background in this paper
...This is precisely the argument put forward by Wilkinson and Pickett (2009) in their study of economic growth in relation to its social outcomes....
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TL;DR: In this article, the authors argue that quality has always been integral to the concept of education, deriving from what is considered worthwhile as an aim or experience in education, and they trace the history of the term and its use in the context of universalisation of education and the growing importance of democracy as a political choice, and economic globalisation.
Abstract: The term ‘quality’ as used in recent education discourse has its origins in the factory floor and production, as a measure of control of the features of merchandise produced. In the form of measureable specifications, it is used by national bureaucracies and international aid and lending agencies as lending itself to scientific management of and monitoring investments in education. Going back to the concept of ‘quality’ as the essential character of a thing, the paper argues that quality has always been integral to the concept of education, deriving from what is considered worthwhile as an aim or experience in education. The paper traces the history of the term beginning with important changes in the concept of education influenced by education thinkers and moving to the role of the concept in the context of universalisation of education, the growing importance of democracy as a political choice, and economic globalisation. The final section of the paper draws out implications for teacher professionalism,...
55 citations
"Quality in Education: Competing Con..." refers background in this paper
...Ideological Climate This brief introductory analysis reminds us of the two meanings of the term ‘quality', both of which are relevant to the recent history of the quality debate (Kumar and Sarangapani, 2004)....
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...This brief introductory analysis reminds us of the two meanings of the term ‘quality', both of which are relevant to the recent history of the quality debate (Kumar and Sarangapani, 2004)....
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