Quality

The rapid expansion of education systems in many countries poses challenges in maintaining the quality of service provision. Leadership and teaching talent is spread more thinly and support systems are put under increasing pressure. The private education sector is burgeoning in many countries in response. For governments, the question is how to provide a framework that ensures quality and prevents disparities, while allowing communities and institutions the autonomy to shape education around their needs.

The shift in focus from quantity to quality is in some ways an indication of how far education has progressed over the last decade. Despite ongoing financial constraints, country and donor investment has successfully expanded the availability of provision – which is why the emphasis today is increasingly shifting to understanding the teaching process in the classroom and ensuring that children learn. If that doesn’t happen, it becomes harder for parents to justify sending their children to school.

However, the factors that create an effective school are diverse – ranging from curriculum and standards to community support. Some issues require centralised intervention and organised systems, such as developing a qualifications framework for both learners and teachers and providing quality assurance across all types of provision (state and private). But other issues demand local adaptations, such as in attracting and retaining teachers or in engaging the local community in supporting a school.

OPM’s work aims to understand what constitutes good quality, particularly in terms of learning outcomes, and which factors determine quality and assist governments to build the necessary systems. At the heart is the need to build the capacity of teachers and school leaders in classroom teaching and school management.