The Importance of Quality within Education and Theories behind the Quality Models.

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The Importance of Quality within Education and Theories behind the Quality Models

Introduction

The FEFC1 first highlighted the lack of quality assurance within education in its first annual report in 1992.  Within the report this issue was perceived as a weakness within the educational system.

Quality assurance and management systems were already in-place within industry such as the BS5750/ISO9000 and the FEFC1 felt that education should also adopt a similar system.  Due to the different structures and culture within education and training organisations, it was felt that the BS5750/ISO9000 system should be seen as only the framework for quality assurance, to enable education to implement their own system by using its main features.

The purposes of a Quality Framework then were to build upon the following sections:-

  • Quality is only meaningful in the context of the colleges’ strategic aims and objectives.
  • The organisation must learn from the experience and feed this back into the process.
  • In keeping with the philosophy of TQM the framework must involve staff at all levels in determining, measuring and judging quality. Empowerment and ownership are key features of TQM.
  • It must meet the needs of vocational education.  The delivery of learning to student (the learning opportunity) must be the central focus of the framework.
  • The framework must address all the stages within the learners’ career-path, the entry and exit stages as well as the learning process.
  • It must address both the ‘hard’ issues of accountability implicit in the further education service.
  • Mechanisms must be in place to ensure improvements take place.
  • The framework must meet the requirements of the main paymaster, the FEFC1 (now LSC2), which has laid out detailed quality requirements.
  • It should be capable of being extended to link with an external certification process such as BS5750/ISO9000, IIP and the European Quality Award (EFQM9).

(Cert Ed handout A Knevett, Oct98, Pg 2)

What is Quality?

“In an information technology product or service, quality is usually defined as "meeting the requirements of the customer."  is a systematic process for ensuring quality during the successive steps in developing a product or service.”

(http://searchebusiness.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid19_gci816144,00.html)

It is important to ensure quality in education, not only to conform to government standards but also to ensure success in a competitive market.  By following quality measures we can expect, a high quality product or service ensuring the colleges competitiveness within the education and training markets.  The benefits from a quality system as regards to the customer are ensuring their needs and wants are met thus securing repetitive trade and word of mouth to other prospective clients.  Employees also benefit from the quality system in the form of job security, higher morale and the chance to increase their knowledge and job prospects through staff development.

How is Quality measured?

Quality is measure through Quality Control and Quality Assurance.  According to BS3 “Quality Control” is influenced by the operational activities that enable quality requirements to be met.

In Education Quality Control is conducted in the form of monitoring the following:

  • Sample Marking in the form of Internal Verification
  • External Verification
  • OTL4 
  • ACR5
  • Standardising resources
  • SPOC6 
  • Inspection Via OFSTED and ALI7

Etc.

An overview of Quality Control is sampling the services to see whether they meet desired levels of quality making part of the overall “Quality Assurance”.

Quality Assurance according to BS3 4778 is ‘All those planned and systematic actions necessary to provide adequate confidence that a product or service will satisfy given requirements for quality.’

Therefore the quality assurance in education involves implementing and maintaining a quality system such as: -

  • Producing quality manuals and policies
  • Ensuring that the systems are conformed to
  • Analysing statistical data
  • Planning quality measures

The benefits

Not only do the clients and staff benefit from quality systems being in place, but it is also a means of ensuring less wastage and less money spent in correcting errors.  This ensures that the educational organisation is able to get thing correct the first time and constantly improve its service to the community.

Total Quality Management (TQM8)

“TQM is a management philosophy embracing all activities through which the needs and the expectations of the customer, the community, and the objectives of the organisation are satisfied in the most efficient way by maximising the potential of all employees in a continuing drive for improvement”

(BS3 4778 Part 2, 1991)

TQM8 is seen as an extension of quality control and assurance; it involves all aspects of areas and people within the organisation by, continuous improvement, teamwork (trust and empowerment) and focus on customer needs and expectations.

Within the ? College this is seen to being worked towards in the form of continuous improvement through development in regards to resources and staff. This is often known by its Japanese name of kaizen, where everyone in the organisation has two parts to play in continuing improvements which are:-

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  • Following existing current standards of practice – this is followed within the college through monitoring teaching and statistics of the course in the form of retention, achievement, course audit etc.
  • Searching for higher and better standard ways of working – this is adhered to through continuous evaluation and improvements of the courses being implemented by the course team.

The constant encouragement for divisions and courses to work in teams, enable them to come up with ideas and solutions for improvement and progression.  Focus on customer wants and expectations as regards to improving the services and courses on ...

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