A Perspective on Quality in Education: The Quest for Zero Defect
| Date | 01 February 1993 |
| Pages | 35-39 |
| Published date | 01 February 1993 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/09684889310044682 |
| Author | Yusuf Sayed |
| Subject Matter | Education |
VOLUME
1
NUMBER 2
1993
A
Perspective
on
Quality
in
Education: The
Quest
for
Zero
Defect
Yusuf Sayed
CONCEPTUALIZING QUALITY
The concept of quality features prominently in
many contemporary texts on management (see
Banks, 1992; Dale and Cooper, 1992). Currently,
greater attention is being paid to both the way
goods are produced and the kinds of goods which
are being produced. This change is associated
with the increasing importance accorded to
consumer needs and satisfaction, that is, parent
(consumer) needs. Furthermore, management
texts argue that product quality is a vital task of
management. To this end, various models of
management are being promoted in education.
The most prominent of these are "total quality
management (TQM)", "quality circles", "just-in-
time",
and "participative management". Further,
the search for the production of quality goods is
associated with a drive to formulate standards of
competency and standards of measurement. Dale
and Cooper (1992) refer to ISO 84902 as one
such measure of excellence and competency.
Some of
the
literature on management defines
quality in the following ways (Banks, 1992; Dale
and Cooper, 1992):
• satisfaction of consumer expectations and
understanding of their needs;
• uniformity of product characteristics and
conformance to defined specifications;
• the fitness of the product in terms of its use
and purpose;
• satisfying customer needs at the lowest
possible cost.
Quality Assurance in Education, Vol. 1 No.
2,
1993, pp. 35-39
© MCB University Press, 0968-4883
These definitions conceive quality as an entity
which can be controlled, achieved and monitored.
While the above definitions may be suitable for
the business environment, they rest on a number
of assumptions. First, the definitions assume a
concrete tangible outcome, that is, a good.
Second, they assume a high degree of both
understanding and surveillance of the production
process. Third, the definitions assume an effective
feedback mechanism. One such feedback
mechanism would be the non-purchase of goods.
Thus,
producers assume the transparency of the
needs of the consumer and her/his self-awareness
with respect to the goods being purchased.
Finally, these definitions take the existing unequal
socio-economic arrangements of society for
granted.
The above approach could be classified as an
objectivist approach to the concept of
quality.
An
objectivist approach makes the assumption that
the constituents of quality can be discretely
identified, measured and quantified. Furthermore,
if the constituents of quality can be discretely
identified and objectively measured, then it is
possible to control for quality. Quality control is a
technique employed in monitoring the production
process so as to ensure the right combination of
inputs and processes in order to produce quality
goods, for example, student performance in
standardized examinations. Quality control can
also be used to measure the outcome of the
production process. However, quality control
necessitates a high level of surveillance even if
the form of surveillance may be unobtrusive.
The literature on management and education
also refers to a variant of the objectivist approach,
namely, the instrumentalist or relativist approach
(see Barnett, 1992; Carr, 1989). The
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