Equity and quality in educational policies.

Drobot, Loredana ; Anghel, Cornelia ; Constantin, Alina 等

1. INTRODUCTION

The handling role in school development programs must make a distinction between the individual and the social aspects of schooling. At the same time, reflection on this topic varies according to objectives--economic or otherwise--of developing educational policies. On the one hand, individual benefits of education are difficult to contest. The statistical data shows that, regardless of the region or level of development, each additional year of schooling brings extra income that exceeds the size of investment made. (Hatos & Chioncel, 2006).

2. THE CONCEPT OF EQUALITY IN EDUCATION

The most encountered types of educational policies are those which refer to equity and quality.

The main actors of any educational policies are the beneficiaries of the educational service (even if they are children, young or adults). Thus the evaluation of the efficiency of these policies can not be done without the analysis of the impact on those. An educational policy that has as target other actors (for example the school managers, the didactic staff) is only a means by which the facility of fulfilling a purpose referring to beneficiaries, is desired.

Another dimension of the public policies analysis from the educational domain is their effect on a social level (the good of the public). Unlike the totalitarian states, in which the individual good is entirely subordinated to the public good, the opened societies, the democratic ones, create the space for the concomitant realization of both goals.

Still, as most specialists agree, the effect of a decision on the public good is harder to quantify. The educational service must be thus understood as being in the benefit of the individual and the society.

Is equality possible in education?

The concept of equality has different meanings if we refer to:

--the individuals (the utopia of equality; the individuals can not be identical, equal; only by an imposed "massification" or homogenization);

--groups = it is expressed by equity (an opened policies, favorable to all social groups - a chance equality not a results one; this doesn't mean that all the members of the group must have the same chances (Vramas, 2004)

The equality represents the symmetry of the parts, an identical treatment, the homogenization while the equity represents a positive discrimination, the equality of chances, a favorable treatment, the difference according to potential (access equality); the support policies of the non favored ones and inclusion policies (catching-up).

It is obvious that the equality must be correlated to quality. Still the slogans which are common spots in education, like: "Education is for all and each" or "Equal chances" (Vramas, 2004) are difficult to transpose in practice, being more ideals, towards each education unity and each teacher must strive.

There is a latent tension between two processes: democratization and competitiveness in education. In the first case, as a strategic one that denies eclectism (education for a privileged group) the accent falls on quality (the mass education, opened for all, with equal chances, the freeing of access, the equitable geographical distribution, social mobility by education), and in the second case, the strategy one that denies the waste and lack of efficiency, the accent falls on quality (efficiency, the reaching of objectives proposed in the most economic way possible, superior standards, selection, competitiveness, superior performances and diversity of the offer).

The equity is not a quantitative concept (statistic), but a quality one because it expresses a judgment of values: social justice, equality of chances by a large and divers offer. The equity is territorial and temporal. We have chosen "equity" not equality in order to correlate it with "quality". The chance represents learning situations on the measure of aspirations, interests and capacities of each individual. They are offered on categories of subjects, on group of educated persons. The role of the State as regulator of the educational offer (social service) is essential so that by its institutions it can ensure social protection and equity for all citizens.

In terms of educational policies, the government's target equity through two types of measure:

--those that promote a basic education for all (the case of adults that do not have the basic competencies--"literacy"; the minimum necessary competencies of each individual in order to live and work in a modern society: the three languages : the written/read language, the mathematics language, foreign languages and the virtual language and of civic culture);

--those that ensure access for all social categories, without social, politic, racial, sexual and religious restrictions.

3. THE RIGHT TO AN EDUCATION IS A CONSTITUTIONAL GUARANTEE

For example: the access of marginalized persons (rural population, women, minorities) or exposes ones (nomads, refugees, immigrants, poor families, unemployed, persons deprived of the civic rights, homeless children) has always been a problem for the educational system (Jigau, 2002).

Two measures are complementary in this case:

--the stimulation of demands (aspirations and trust in education--by "awareness" (Freire, 2007)

--the sustaining of offers (extensions and diversity) and the adaptation of these to the needs of each group.

The problem of indirect costs (primary and secondary education is free) refers to those connected to transportation, clothing, food and school books (where these cannot be free). The indirect costs are part of the quality of life and limit the application of the equity principle in education.

Thus we have limited conditions of equity: insufficient demand (lack of motivation); indirect costs (quality of life) and direct costs.

4. THE QUALITY NORMATIVE ORIENTATION IN EDUCATION

The quality (fitness to purpose) represents the rapport among the actual performances (the results obtained) and the desired performances (objectives, aspirations, projects), between reality and project. Thus the quality has: a descriptive orientation--a student can have a certain number of qualities, these characteristics being different according to the observer; a normative orientation--the quality is a position inside a value scale, this position contains certain quality criteria and a value judgment in connection to these criteria.

In the educational policies domain the quality refers to the normative orientation.

The quality is not just the antonym of quantity, nor any non quantitative appreciation of quality. The quality must be understood as a property of each phenomenon (behavior, process) that may vary on a certain scale of values. Values may be expressed in a quantitative way or in a non quantitative one, for example: the results and the pedagogical objectives, in this case, are expressed by efficiency (the degree of objective realization). In general, the quality is circumscribed to the components of the educational system and it is risky to talk about it in terms of education quality. It is preferable to circumscribe the analysis to a certain component of the system: the resource quality, the results etc., because at a system level the picture is complete.

Nowadays there are three main references: the entrance quality--human resources, financial resources, infrastructures, legislation, the period of time reserved to preparing teachers; the process quality--refers to the quality of educational relations, to curriculum, to teaching/learning activities, evaluation methods, school climate, instruction time; and result quality (exits quality)--school performances (1st degree effects), integration in active life (2nd degree effects) and the capacity to innovate and change (3rd degree effects).

5. POLICIES INSPIRED BY THE QUALITY PRINCIPLE

The difference between competencies and performances is that the first one supposes a potential, the other refers to the effective realization or expressing potential through results.

The policies inspired from the education quality domain are the following ones:

--the protection of those who benefit from educational services and the insurance of a transparency regarding the quality of services in education, offered by the suppliers of educational services;

--the underlining of policies and sector strategies in the education domain;

--the stimulating of a quality culture embrace at the educational service suppliers.

The growth quality policies may have in view strategies may be:

--the development of teacher's competencies. Human resources are more efficient, capable of a more profitable teaching (the profit mans the maximum use of existent resources);

--the supplementing of financial resources (the growth of education expenses from the national/local budget);

--innovation and research (methods, learning innovations).

--superior organization (management) at the authorities level and at the school level;

--the development of student learning capacities by specialized programs (preschool education programs, improving of life conditions programs, including health and food program);

--the integration of new information and communication technologies in the educational process;

--the improving of learning conditions (the rehabilitation of buildings, furniture, didactic equipment);

--the elaboration and the implementation of institutional and procedural instruments of evaluation, insurance, control and quality improving:

--measures that target the curriculum, the development of learning standards, the improving of curricular organization (e.g. inter-disciplines) simplification, student activation, accent on durable knowledge, quality control (evaluation). (Chomsky, 2009).

In situations of regress and crisis (e.g. transition) the resource amplification if limited (budget allocation). This is why the accent must be put on organization, competencies and innovation. From that perspective, the reform represents a demarche in obtaining quality for the educational system.

6. THE EUROPEAN DIMENSION OF EDUCATION

The idea of "size" evokes opening an European national educational systems, circumscribed to the jurisdiction of Member States. Introduced in 1983 by a recommendation of the European Parliament, the European dimension designated added purposeful national policies in education which actually leads to issues at European levels, in some subjects such as geography and history, study foreign languages and acquis sites, even by special materials dedicated European studies. In addition to these specifications, the building of a national education has not matched expectations, so the need to develop consistent systems has been felt. Since 1993 the Charter of New Europe (adopted with the Maastricht Treaty), "size" has become a more precise outline.

It refers to:

--education in Europe, which focuses on belonging to a common cultural space;

--education about Europe, which refers to the content and materials studying various aspects of society;

--education for Europe, which aims at the formation of European identity and citizenship.

This latter aspect has become a priority in the programs of cooperation in education, research and youth studies. In the future the Community budget for education, the triple funds for research in the year 2005-2008 and an European citizenship education for the benefit of a massive support are expected.

7. REFERENCES

Chomsky, N. (2009). Interventions, translation Bogdan Lepadatu, Ed. Vellant, Bucharest

Freire, Paulo (2000). Pedagogy of the Oppressed, Continuum, New York, ISBN 0-8264-1276-9

Hatos, A., Chioncel, N. (2006). Scientific and Technical Bulletin. Series: Social and Hummanistic Sciences, University "Aurel Vlaicu" Arad, vol. XII, no. 9, ISBN 973613-97-2

Jigau, M. (2002). Rural education in Romania--conditions, problems and development strategies, UNICEF, second edition, Ed. Marlink, Bucharest, ISBN 973-8411-30-0

Vramas, T. (2004). School and education for all, Ed. Miniped, Bucharest, ISBN 1583-5529