Recently, I read a Nepali article on quality education written by a teacher where he indicated that quality education is basically related to “academic achievement” or the best examination results at schools. His statement made me wonder if teachers themselves define quality education this way, what does the term mean to the general public?
Quality education is very important at the present time as it is one of the seventeen UN sustainable development goals. Quality education should not only be confined to examination results; they are only one dimension. There are different indicators to define this term. Some of them which are suitable in the context of Nepali community schools include the following.
Apart from a relevant and competitive curriculum, teacher qualifications and their professional development is the most essential aspect of quality education. Teachers play a vital role in implementing educational policies so they must have up-to-date knowledge and skills to impart the curriculum content to students.
School infrastructure is another dimension. There must be spacious classrooms where students can perform different sorts of group and individual activities. In addition to this, they must have access to clean drinking water, sanitary toilets, a playground and playthings.
Classroom management is also equally important. The classrooms must not be overcrowded. Research studies indicate that the ideal pupil to teacher ratio is between 1:20 and 1:30. If the student number is small, every student will get a chance to interact with the teacher and the teacher will also be able to cater individual students’ needs. Furthermore, teachers should not be absent from their classes.
Without enough resource materials students’ learning will not be effective. They include white/blackboard with its accessories and use, textbooks, a well-equipped library and varieties of teaching learning materials.
Students’ continuous assessment is also a must to find out if they have achieved the learning outcomes mentioned in the curriculum. Teachers can use a number of ways for formative evaluation and at the end of the academic year there is a summative evaluation to upgrade students from one level to another.
Without parental involvement in their children’s learning, the process of quality education will not be complete. On the one hand, in most of the cases parents do not know much about what their children are doing at school. On the other hand, research shows that parental involvement in children’s education improves their academic achievement. Therefore, there must be strong home-school partnerships to foster student learning.
UNICEF identifies five key factors of quality education. They are healthy and well-nourished children who are supported by their families and communities; safe, protective and gender-sensitive learning environments with adequate resources and facilities; relevant content with literacy, numeracy, life skills as well as knowledge in the areas of gender, health, nutrition HIV/AIDS prevention and peace; effective teaching learning processes including trained teachers, child-centred teaching approaches, well-managed classrooms and skilful assessment; and learning outcomes via knowledge, skills and attitudes.
This way, quality education does not only include students’ academic achievement. Instead, it combines different features by the use of which every child will be able to maximise their potential to achieve learning outcomes expected of them.
Quality education is very important at the present time as it is one of the seventeen UN sustainable development goals. Quality education should not only be confined to examination results; they are only one dimension. There are different indicators to define this term. Some of them which are suitable in the context of Nepali community schools include the following.
Apart from a relevant and competitive curriculum, teacher qualifications and their professional development is the most essential aspect of quality education. Teachers play a vital role in implementing educational policies so they must have up-to-date knowledge and skills to impart the curriculum content to students.
School infrastructure is another dimension. There must be spacious classrooms where students can perform different sorts of group and individual activities. In addition to this, they must have access to clean drinking water, sanitary toilets, a playground and playthings.
Classroom management is also equally important. The classrooms must not be overcrowded. Research studies indicate that the ideal pupil to teacher ratio is between 1:20 and 1:30. If the student number is small, every student will get a chance to interact with the teacher and the teacher will also be able to cater individual students’ needs. Furthermore, teachers should not be absent from their classes.
Without enough resource materials students’ learning will not be effective. They include white/blackboard with its accessories and use, textbooks, a well-equipped library and varieties of teaching learning materials.
Students’ continuous assessment is also a must to find out if they have achieved the learning outcomes mentioned in the curriculum. Teachers can use a number of ways for formative evaluation and at the end of the academic year there is a summative evaluation to upgrade students from one level to another.
Without parental involvement in their children’s learning, the process of quality education will not be complete. On the one hand, in most of the cases parents do not know much about what their children are doing at school. On the other hand, research shows that parental involvement in children’s education improves their academic achievement. Therefore, there must be strong home-school partnerships to foster student learning.
UNICEF identifies five key factors of quality education. They are healthy and well-nourished children who are supported by their families and communities; safe, protective and gender-sensitive learning environments with adequate resources and facilities; relevant content with literacy, numeracy, life skills as well as knowledge in the areas of gender, health, nutrition HIV/AIDS prevention and peace; effective teaching learning processes including trained teachers, child-centred teaching approaches, well-managed classrooms and skilful assessment; and learning outcomes via knowledge, skills and attitudes.
This way, quality education does not only include students’ academic achievement. Instead, it combines different features by the use of which every child will be able to maximise their potential to achieve learning outcomes expected of them.
(Published in an English Daily The Rising Nepal on Friday, Sept. 15, 2017 )
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I would appreciate any and all suggestions on making improvements (as long as they are viable).