Educational Quality Redefined
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Educational Quality Redefined SHELDON SHAEFFER
ABSTRACT Sheldon Shaeffer sets out the challenges that education systems are to meet if ‘education of good quality’ can respond to the needs of the new century. KEYWORDS collective action; community organization; critical analysis; parents; teachers
Rethinking education for the new millennium At century’s end, the changes occurring in the world – the on-going transformation of political relationships, the promise of expanded democratization and the threat of narrow nationalisms and fundamentalisms, the increasing risks to environmental sustainability and the spread of the HIV/AIDS epidemic – have once again raised the profile of education. More and more urgently around the world, schools and education systems are being assigned the task of developing the human resources needed to meet these challenges to the world’s development. The renewed interest in education is leading to a new definition of what education of good quality means. Quality in education has traditionally been defined in terms of inputs, outputs, and processes. Inputs include facilities and materials – classroom, blackboards, and textbooks – as well as the nature of teachers and students themselves. Outputs include proxies of achievement (promotion and completion rates) and measures of actual achievement, such as the information and skills learned in school. Educational processes include, for example, the proper organization of a lesson, the correct use of texts and homework, the encouragement of child-centred learning, and the absolute amount of time spent on a task. Challenges to ensure good quality education
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The challenges facing the world at the beginning of a new century are now changing our perceptions of what constitutes education of good quality. In such a context, quality is defined not only in relation to the extent to which the
Shaeffer: Educational Quality Redefined education system is well-supplied, teaches literacy, job skills, and ‘facts for life’, and facilitates an effective teaching process. Good education must also: • be based upon the fundamental principles governing the rights of children, including nondiscrimination and a concern for the best interests of the child; • provide the ‘life skills’ – the knowledge, values, and behaviours – needed for children to face the risks and challenges of the new century; • mobilize and empower people with the knowledge and skills needed for more participatory and democratic processes; and • in a world of greater disparity and intolerance, promote greater respect for differences and a greater willingness to ‘include’ all people in the development process. An education system linked to such a definition of quality will need to focus much more than traditional education does on teaching the skills of critical analysis, collective action, and community organization, and on imparting attitudes and values that support gender equality, economic cooperation, social inclusion, and greater participation in, and ownership of, de
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