The term quality is a Latin term and means the constitution of a certain product. Frequently, the term quality is used for good quality, but as the term in general does not imply a valuation, a product can have a good or a bad quality (see Hartz/Meisel 2007). The quality level of a product is always depending on the person who is assessing it and on the criteria the person is using to assess quality. A learner may assess the same lesson completely different than another learner. In educational situations quality differs from other products, because education can’t be consumed like other products. It always requires the commitment and effort of learners to learn something and this can lead to pressure and affect the perception of the learner. This means that the satisfaction of a learner is not always a result of a successful learning process. That is why quality can’t be measured only by the satisfaction of learners. Indicators for quality in education can be for instance the planning of teaching, the level of professionalisation of a teacher, the didactical approaches that were used or the degrees that were obtained or how learners adopt the learning results. In general there are various perspectives and indicators to measure quality and depending on the indicators the same teaching can be assessed as having a good or a bad quality.
Quality is related to the perspective of the assessor and the indicators that are used to assess quality. Depending on the method the same teaching can be assessed with a different result.
The difference between quality assurance and quality management is that quality assurance measures the quality while quality management is aims to create good quality through the forms of management. Quality management uses strategies and tools with a permanent reflection of their influences to enhance the quality of education. The teacher or trainer is the person who is intensively in contact with the learners at the institution. They influence the perception of their learners through the teaching. Therefore it is also important for Quality is related to the perspective of the assessor and the indicators that are used to assess quality. Depending on the method the same teaching can be assessed with a different result.
Source: http://www.qual4t-project.org/
Handbook focuses on internal quality management and its importance for VET institutions. By this support which comprises guides to self-assessment, sets of indicators, data collection and processing tools and training opportunities for teachers and trainers. VET providers can successfully meet challenges of national and international competition, because it is meant to guide them through a ‘quality journey’ based on the PDCA (plan-do-check-act) or quality cycle, the underlying approach to any quality management system (QMS).
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication [communication] reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
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