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Quality of Education
Dimension: Response capacity
Category: Education
Population type: country's total population
Definition: Quality of education is understood as the education system's capacity to transmit a set of relevant skills and competencies to students. This concept includes four dimensions that should be addressed when measuring this topic:
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Context dimension: is the societal environment in which the education system develops. Therefore, the variables included are all the external factors that could affect the performance of the education system. As an example, there are socio-economic factors such as parents' unemployment; cultural aspects like the preference for home-based education over schools; and other local community issues.
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Input dimension: it covers all the use of resources to facilitate the education process. This implies the capacity of the educational system to design and execute a coherent plan for the deployment of material (textbooks, desks, bathrooms, etc.) and human resources (teachers).
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Process dimension: every aspect concerning the activities to fulfill the education programs are covered in this dimension. It implies that all the activities conducted by teachers should be done with the desired standard of quality and in accordance with the educational goals.
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Output dimension: This is the final outcome of the education system. It evaluates the level by which the education system helps students to assimilate all the expected knowledge, skills, and competencies desired.
Calculation: The indicator is calculated by expert consultation. The tool is a questionnaire that aggregates points to measure the level of quality of education in a territory (administrative level 2). The maximum number of points (10) means a deficient educational system, meanwhile, 0 points represent an optimal educational system.
1. Are any of these reasons present in the territory that leads to the absence of students in schools? (context dimension) (4 points)
- Working because families don't have enough income. (0.57 points)
- Temporary displacement of the family due to economic circumstances (for example families have to move because of the harvest season). (0.57 points)
- There aren't roads that facilitate movement between houses and schools. (0.57 points)
- Existing roads often collapse due to moderate to harsh weather conditions. (0.57 points)
- The presence of territorial conflicts or armed groups makes it unsafe for students to go to school. (0.57 points)
- There is a lack of trust in the education system. (0.57 points)
- Classes are suspended because of disruptive political events like protests (with the teacher's involvement or not). (0.57 points)
2. How many of these events occur frequently and affect the education system? (input dimension) (3 points)
- Teachers and other staff don't receive the expected salary on time. (0.5 points)
- The schools have to be closed because of a lack of funds. (0.5 points)
- The education system suffers from financial cuts. (0.5 points)
- Each year government doesn't allocate enough resources. (0.5 points)
- Mass layoffs of teachers and staff. (0.5 points)
- Teachers don't have the minimum pedagogical training required. (0.5 points)
3. Are any of these materials and infrastructure commonly or permanently absent in the schools? (input dimension) (3 points)
- Roofs and walls are in good state and with high-quality materials. (0.5 points)
- There are bathrooms with all the needed requirements. (0.5 points)
- The floor is made of high-quality materials and in a good state. (0.5 points)
- There is access to drinking water. (0.5 points)
- Students receive sufficient food. (0.5 points)
- There are enough desks for each student and are in good condition. (0.5 points)
It should be noted that all these materials have to be financed through the education system budget and not by personal spending made by staff or families.
The methodology for calculating this indicator is the sum of all the points assigned for each answer selected. There are two types of questions that lead to different aggregation of points:
- Single-choice questions: only the value of the chosen answer is counted.
- Multiple-choice questions: all the points assigned to the various answers selected had to be added.
Data sources: Expert consultation
Comments and limitations: Before the deployment of this questionnaire, it should be assessed how much of this data is already available so there may be no need to use it. This questionnaire is an alternative for measuring education quality, but data that is already measured through quantitative methods should be preferred. This is the reason why the process and output dimensions are not covered in the questionnaire, many of the corresponding variables for both of them can be measured by quantitative data. For the process dimension indicators such as the completion rate, percentage of children over-age for grade, and out-of-school rate should be used. For the output dimension indicators like the percentage of students that have the expected level of proficiency in language and mathematics (or other topics) are recommended.
Another decision before deployment is the delimitation of the object of study. This questionnaire is designed to cover only the public sector and primary and secondary education. The tool can be adapted if there is a need to cover other levels of education or the private sector.
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UNESCO. (2021). Quality and Learning Indicators. Quality and learning indicators | Unesco IIEP Learning Portal. Retrieved from https://learningportal.iiep.unesco.org/en/issue-briefs/monitor-learning/quality-and-learning-indicators
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Scheerens, J., Luyten, H., van Ravens, J. (2011a). Perspectives on Educational Quality. In: Scheerens, J., Luyten, H., van Ravens, J. (eds) Perspectives on Educational Quality. SpringerBriefs in Education, vol 1. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-0926-3_1
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Scheerens, J., Luyten, H., van Ravens, J. (2011b). Measuring Educational Quality by Means of Indicators. In: Scheerens, J., Luyten, H., van Ravens, J. (eds) Perspectives on Educational Quality. SpringerBriefs in Education, vol 1. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-0926-3_2