Our Concept of Quality Education

When discussing or defining quality, it is important to distinguish between education and schooling. Some of the literature does make this distinction but much of it conflates the two concepts, in some cases using them as though they are completely interchangeable. Although rather dated, a broad definition of education is the development of desirable qualities in people of course, there is no agreement about the end of “desirable qualities” and what these are. Schooling, on the other hand, is about providing the service of „education‟, i.e. of educating young people through institutionalised and universalised „organised‟ learning.

The concept quality in education is elusive and frequently used but never defined. A good quality education is one that provides all learners with capabilities they require to become economically productive, develop sustainable livelihoods, contribute to peaceful and democratic societies and enhance individual well-being. The learning outcomes that are required vary according to context but at the end of the basic education cycle must include threshold levels of literacy and numeracy, basic scientific knowledge and life skills including awareness and prevention of disease. Capacity development to improve the quality of teachers and other education stakeholders is crucial throughout this process.

Quality Learner
School systems work with the children who come into them. The quality of children’s lives before beginning formal education greatly influences the kind of learners they can be. Many elements go into making a quality learner, including health, early childhood experiences and home support:
• Good health and nutrition.
Physically and psychosocially healthy children learn well. Healthy development in early childhood, especially during the first three years of life, plays an important role in providing the basis for a healthy life and a successful formal school experience. Adequate nutrition is critical for normal brain development in the early years. . Prevention of infection, disease and injury prior to school enrolment are also critical to the early development of a quality learner.

• Early childhood psychosocial development experiences.
Positive early experiences and interactions are also vital to preparing a quality learner. Effective and appropriate stimulation in a child’s early years influences the brain development necessary for emotional regulation, arousal, and behavioural management. A child who misses positive stimulation or is subject to chronic stress in the pre-school years may have difficulty with psychosocial development later in life.

• Regular attendance for learning
When they reach school age, research demonstrates that to achieve academically, children must attend school consistently. A child’s exposure to curriculum — his or her opportunity to learn’ — significantly influences achievement, and exposure to curriculum comes from being in school

• Family support for learning.
Parents may not always have the tools and background to support their children’s cognitive and psychosocial development throughout their school years. Parents’ level of education, for example, has a multifaceted impact on children’s ability to learn in school. Parental education not only influences parent-child interactions related to learning, but also affects parents’ income and need for help in the home or field — help that often comes at the expense of keeping children in school

Quality Learning Environments
• Quality of school facilities.
Physical learning environments or the places in which formal learning occurs, range from relatively modern and well-equipped buildings to open-air gathering places. The quality of school facilities seems to have an indirect effect on learning, an effect that is hard to measure.

• Teachers’ behaviours that affect safety.
Relative to both girls and boys, parents, educators and researchers express important concerns about teachers who create an unsafe environment for students. Teacher behaviours affect the quality of the learning environment since learning cannot take place when the basic needs of survival and self-protection are threatened.

• Quality Content
Quality education cannot be based on a blueprint that is applicable in all situations. Solutions and adaptations of education systems must be based on the real needs of a country and/or community. Research on educational practices and projections about future needs society contribute to current understanding of the structure of school curriculum. In general, curriculum should emphasize deep rather than broad coverage of important areas of knowledge, authentic and contextualized problems of study, and problem-solving that stresses skills development as well as knowledge acquisition. Curriculum should also provide for individual differences, closely coordinate and selectively integrate subject matter, and focus on results or standards and targets for student learning

• Life skills.
The term ‘life skills’ can be broadly interpreted and is often assumed to include such topics as health, hygiene, etiquette, and vocational skills. However, life skills are defined as “psycho-social and interpersonal skills used in every day interactions...not specific to getting a job or earning an income”. A wide range of examples exist under the Life Skills, such as assertion and refusal skills, goal setting, decision making and coping skills. Life skills curriculum focuses on attitudes, values and behavioural change, rather than seeking to provide young people with a body of knowledge about a set of topics. As with literacy, age-appropriate life skills can be incorporated into other areas of study

• Teacher competence and school efficiency.
Whether a teacher uses traditional or more current methods of instruction, efficient use of school time has a significant impact on student learning. Teachers’ presence in the classroom represents the starting point.

• Visionary leadership
College principals and heads of school have a crucial role to play in the implementation of the reform. Their driving force is essential and their need for support is acknowledged. A more distributed form of leadership is encouraged within and across college networks. Dispersed, delegated and democratic forms of leadership imply greater empowerment where and when it matters. This means that college networks slowly become more responsible and accountable for matters dealing with school life.

In conclusion, a system that focuses on quality education allows children to develop and grow in school environments that are supportive and at the same time challenging, which nurture them to become confident, have good self-esteem and willing to strive forward yet at the same time feel a sense of responsibility towards others in their community. We believe that all our schools can be such places where children of different abilities develop, learn and grow together.

Source: Unicef (Website)
Timesofmalta (Website)
VVOB (Website)

The author of this article is Asst. Professor Pioneer Institute of Professional studies Indore