Quality Education is a term used to describe a high-quality combination of curriculum, assessments, and training that produces graduates capable of being socially effective and economically productive. Parents can infer education quality from the learning resources provided by a school.
But education quality isn't just about the resources and the curriculum but also about the teachers' ability to educate students alongside the school culture's ability to produce well-rounded individuals.
Many parents enroll their kids in schools based on the syllabus alone and are frustrated to learn that their wards need tuition because of the poor instruction quality.
To judge a school's education quality, you need to assess the quality of the following components:
If the school's curriculum is well-known, then its education can open doors for high-quality higher education. Well-rounded subject matter points toward a quality curriculum.
Aside from the required textbooks, what else is there for your ward to learn from? Classroom handouts, links to helpful resources, etc., are indicators of high-quality learning resources.
Training quality is best judged by how much your ward needs private tuition. Please note that many students require private tuition because of a lack of one-on-one interaction and because of the limits of traditional schooling. Still, every student in a quality classroom should be able to get passing marks, at least with zero post-school tuition.
The values of a school are not judged by what's proclaimed on its website. They are seen in how it transforms your ward. For instance, if your child obsesses over grades alone, then the school doesn't value the non-academic aspects of quality education.
School culture is a result of whom the school targets in its marketing. For instance, 21K School focuses on open-minded parents who want to equip their children with an education that acknowledges the changing world and allows them to capitalize on its opportunities. Who the school attracts and who it lets in produces the social fabric of your child's life. Eliminating negative peer pressure and bad influences requires enrolling one's ward in a school with a quality culture.
Selecting for excellence in each one of those pillars can ensure quality education for your child. 21K School is an online education provider with a high-quality set of curricula, teaching methodologies tailored for individual students, and a high student satisfaction track record. 21K School, therefore, is a great choice if you're okay with online learning.
If you want to send your ward to a physical school, though, you'll need to personally assess its curriculum and learning materials. It can be tough for parents to judge a school's curriculum or its learning materials. UN's definition of Quality Education can provide more elaborate criteria to judge quality education.
The UN's goal to provide inclusive and equitable quality education comes with an elaborate definition, which is mentioned below.
"[Quality education] must promote lifelong learning opportunities for all and support the acquisition of the knowledge and skills needed to exploit opportunities and to participate fully in society. It must also foster the development of ethical, social, and emotional competencies to empower individuals to live, work, and thrive in diverse and changing environments and to contribute to sustainable development."
One way to rephrase the UN's definition of quality education is that it equips students with the ability to continue learning throughout their life and makes them more personally, socially, and economically competent.
The UN also asserts that "obtaining a quality education is the foundation to improving people’s lives" and of "sustainable development." So, it can be inferred that for an individual, education's quality can be determined by its ability to improve their life in a sustainable fashion.
Boiling it down to a single sentence, we get the following definition:
Quality education is an education that can improve a student's life throughout their life.
This definition of quality education is quite helpful because of its relevance across the socio-economic spectrum. For someone living in poverty, a trade school enrollment could provide the quality education necessary to start earning a living wage.
But for someone with generational wealth, quality education would be far higher in Maslow's hierarchy of needs. He doesn't need an education that gets him a job. However, that doesn't mean that he can afford to go without schooling. Generationally wealthy individuals need an education that can help them understand responsible wealth management and can make them better-rounded humans.
Ultimately, the UN's goal regarding Quality Education is to bring it to children of different genders, races, and ethnic backgrounds all over the world. And if they all receive an education that improves their lives throughout their lives, they'll climb up the economic ladder.
Like the UN, different organizations have set different targets regarding quality education, but most aim toward the same direction. Almost every organization working towards providing Quality Education is trying to make it available to more people.
That's the general target of schools, NGOs, and even governments, regarding Quality Education. It should not be confused with the targets of quality education itself.
The primary target of quality education is improving the lives of students. This can be broken down into financial, social, emotional, philosophical, and psychological components.
The financial benefits of quality education are under constant scrutiny. Parents want the fee they pay to have an eventual return, while marketers want their respective schools to be viewed as beacons of financial progress.
The social aspect of quality education should be under higher scrutiny than the financial one. The top 1% put a disproportional emphasis on who else goes to a particular school and not just what the school teaches. Friendships forged in school days can be consequential in positive as well as negative ways.
Given that teachers have replaced a good portion of what used to be the mothers' time with their children, they have to accept their role as stand-in parents. Leaving this unfulfilled leads to an emotionally closed-off or disproportionately needy child.
Online schooling allows teachers to work with smaller groups giving enough attention to everyone. Regardless of the mode, education must elevate a student's emotional well-being. Young students' emotions must be understood and acknowledged.
Students should also be taught in a way that makes them emotionally mature and capable of self-regulation.
Aside from making your ward feel emotionally independent and mature, education should also equip him with a philosophical lens that makes him capable of leading a good life. Jaded teachers or pressurized school staff aren't capable of doing this. A school that fosters a positive culture is much better at helping students be philosophically generous.
From giving the benefit of the doubt to their peers to choosing kindness when it is easy to be indifferent, the little things that young students do when growing up can shape their philosophical outlook on life.
A good philosophical view can help one be socially impactful, forgiving, and even somewhat fulfilled. But one's outlook is a product of one's brain. The right philosophy of life requires the right psychological state. Quality education takes a student's mental health into account.
Schools that dump too much homework on their students to impress parents disregard this component entirely. A psychologically taxed student can develop a burning aversion to education and can stop learning altogether after he has the bare-minimum education to get by. And that's antithetical to the UN's definition of Quality Education.
In the lower-income class as well as the lower middle class, the common attitude towards school is that getting a student into university is the best thing it can do. And the thought regarding universities is that the best thing they can do is get a job.
It is erroneously assumed that the schools with a higher ability to funnel students into university provide Quality Education. It is easy to discount the need for other aspects for financially-strapped households.
But now that online schools have made well-rounded Quality Education accessible, every parent should think of the importance of Quality Education instead of Grade-driven education.
Quality education can help students become thrive across all aspects of their lives, including financial, social, and emotional ones. Students who get quality education early on continue to grow as individuals even after they graduate.
On the other hand, students who get grade-driven education learn to put mark sheets on a pedestal and focus entirely on KPIs and Certificates of appreciation. This can lead to work-life balance problems, a lack of social life, and fulfillment problems post-mid-life.
Grade-driven education stops paying dividends past middle management, which can be frustrating for students who have grown up to value their careers only.
Understanding the economic reality of life is one thing. But raising a child who believes it to be the only goal is another. Quality Education is important because it produces graduates who are economically productive but also socially capable. These are the people who make an impact on others, live full lives, and make time for their spouses, children, and parents.
When someone gets Quality Education, their family and society at large are better off. More importantly, the individual getting educated is also better off. Here are the benefits of high-quality education to an individual.
With Quality Education, an individual is better equipped to provide value to the market and make more money.
Quality education comes with a wealth of socializing opportunities and equips one with values that contribute to a rich social life.
According to a US Study, quality education improves cognition. Those who get better education don't just know better. They can also think better.
High-quality education teaches students to understand new concepts and even question them. This fosters critical thinking, which helps them make better decisions.
Well-rounded education fosters creativity, which is crucial to self-esteem and actualization. Papers as far back as the 70s have proven that creativity and self-actualization have a positive correlation.
Students who get quality education are taught conflict resolution, problem-solving, and communication, all of which form the bedrock for emotional intelligence.
The world keeps changing, and those who learn continuously thrive with change. Recipients of quality education love to learn and continue the pursuit of knowledge even later in life.
Equipped with a well-rounded education and care, students who go to Quality Education schools are in a better position to go beyond economic worries and focus on fulfilling their potential. And when individuals fulfill their potential, people around them benefit.
The admirable effects of quality education go beyond the learner's own life and ripple out into society at large.
The financial success aspect of individual growth manifests itself as a generally wealth-flush economy. That's why the countries that have managed to produce the best quality standards for education are among the highest GDP nations.
The difference between the economic prosperity of countries where grade-centric Education is preferred over holistic education is that the former are financially rich while the latter is financially and socially wealthy. It is with Quality Education alone that a compassionate generation can be raised.
Sustainability is a requirement of almost every system in existence. Economic models so far have seemed to be financially sustainable for the rich and economically uncertain for lower-income households. Moreover, they have proven to be uniformly unsustainable for the planet. Quality education instills in individuals the importance of environmental sustainability. It also equips them with the financial know-how to turn their skills into income, which leads to more financial stability. The economic sustainability that comes from one generation getting quality education can continue across multiple generations, provided that families emphasize education's importance.
Fortune Magazine has found that 70% of wealthy families lose their wealth within one generation. In the same analysis, 90% of the generational wealth is lost across two generations. Quality education can prevent frivolous loss by ensuring that each subsequent generation is equipped with the right financial and social lenses to retain their wealth and use it more responsibly.
Quality education's effects on individuals' prosperity and mental health, alongside its importance for social change and familial cohesion, are well documented. Here are the top 5 studies you should be aware of.
Nic Spaull's Stellenbosch University research paper finds that poor education ensures low income, which keeps people from providing quality education to their children. This cycle of poverty can start for any family at any point if quality education is stripped from a generation. Even affluent families can spend irresponsibly enough to lose it all.
In Issues And Trends In Education For Sustainable Development's fourth chapter, the authors make a compelling case that Quality Education can stabilize economies and alleviate enough people out of poverty to lay the bedrock of sustainable development.
Dana Mitra's Pennsylvania State University paper on The Social and Economic Benefits of Public Education concludes that making Quality Education accessible to the public can prove to be the most financially, socially, and culturally rewarding investment for any state.
A paper on the Contributions of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) to Quality Education finds that UNESCO's ESD initiative is actually improving education quality internationally. It also finds that participants from most countries are already availing of the positive effects of Quality
In No Child Left Behind: Costs and Benefits, the author finds that while Quality Education can deliver many desirable outcomes, there isn't enough of it to go around. His area of focus is the American Education system. In non-American countries, the Western curriculum might be conflated with quality education. But this paper goes on to prove that education quality is beyond the American or even the British curriculum. It is about instruction quality, classroom structure, and a balance of academic and non-academic aspects.
Most of the challenges regarding Quality Education come from an improper assumption that education is best assessed by the syllabus. In fact, Education is best assessed by the environment and the quality of education.
That's why many parents are moving to school their children online for better teacher-to-student ratio and more environmental control. Still, ensuring quality remains a challenge in the education system at large. Here are the key obstacles in the way of Quality Education.
Schools are businesses that are supposed to turn a profit. This pressure can lead them to charge fees that parents cannot afford. As a result, families that need quality education to get out of poverty end up getting priced out of Quality education.
Even families that can cough up the high costs of high-quality schools can be kept out through vague enrollment criteria. Because schools don't have to be open and objective about their enrollment criteria, they can keep students of certain backgrounds out.
The 9 of the top 10 universities in the world are located in the US. Similar clustering occurs in schools as well, with most that provide Quality Education being present in the same geographic area. This leaves out many states, towns, and rural areas, where students have to resort to the closest schools instead of the best ones.
Because universities emphasize grades and scores in board exams, many schools focus entirely on churning out batches of high-grade earners. This model suppresses the creative tendencies as well as the potential of students who aren't very good at memorizing.
Many parents don't know what quality education is. Some believe that a foreign syllabus indicates quality, while others believe that giving more homework is a sign of academic superiority. This creates a demand for schools that look like they provide quality education but don't actually deliver.
Online Schools are combatting the geographic and enrollment discrimination challenges. But even when picking an online school, a parent must understand the markers of a quality education-providing institution.
Whether you plan to enroll your child in a physical school or in an online one, you must look for five indicators of good quality. Do not enroll your ward in an institution that doesn't offer or have all of the following:
An unorthodox teaching method is a key marker of quality in education. Most often, quality institutions stand out by an unconventional teacher-to-student ratio. If a classroom is more interactive than average, the education provided there is of better quality.
When a school provides homework that students can finish by themselves, it displays the value of its instruction as well as the excellence of its homework design.
If the syllabus is too market-inclined, and the curriculum excludes the arts and literature, then the school is too set in the conventional education system. Quality schools pay attention to students' mental and physical needs and offer subjects that allow students to sample a broader range of subjects.
The more a school is on your ward's side, the better your child will learn. From teaching methods to the overall environment, quality education is student-oriented. It might be financially convenient to have one teacher teach a class of 35 students. But it is far more convenient for a child to learn in a small group.
Finally, you can tell how good a school is at delivering quality education by asking for results. Schools that provide top-tier education are very forthcoming with their results and testimonials. They speak of students who are happier and are achieving more. But schools that excel at conventional education only speak of grades and enrollment rates.
Parents don't always have to transfer their children because of quality problems in a specific institution's curriculum or instruction quality. Every school can offer quality education, given appropriate direction and resources. Here are a few things that schools can do to offer Quality Education.
Train Their Teachers
Teacher training is the most impactful way to increase the quality of an institution. Since instruction quality is crucial for top-tier education, you can bump up any school's level by helping teachers do better.
Reduce Class Size
Aside from encouraging more interactive teaching methods, schools can also reduce the number of students per class for a more interactive environment. It is a tough financial decision, but it is manageable. Many online schools already have small classrooms. Given that physical schools are more cash-flush, they can make the same choice as well.
Rethink Their Curriculum
While conventional schools are resistant to reducing their classroom size, they are even more hesitant to rethink their curricula. The dictum that "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" doesn't work in quality education because education must be better than "not broken." It should be the best it can be, for which a school has to redesign its curriculum.
Change Assessment Methods
The classroom tests, mid-terms, and final examinations have become the standard for most schools. But quality schools have vivas, quizzes, and essay submissions as additional assessment tools that track a student's progress.
Involve The Parents
Good schools don't just track their students' progress; they community-build with the parents. By involving parents in their wards' academic progress, schools can ensure that quality education continues at home after it is wrapped up in school.
Schools that overcome the obstacles to quality education can be identified quite easily because they stand out from the rest. If you want to be sure that the school you're planning to enroll your child in is indeed a quality institution, you should use the following as your checklist.
Quality schools have friendly staff and accessible management. You should be able to meet more than the enrollment manager on your first visit to a quality school.
From the curriculum to the way learning materials are designed, everything about a quality school is student-centered.
Schools that offer quality education don't limit it to students only. Even teachers get a fair share of education. From the latest teaching methods to technological support, teachers in quality classrooms are empowered to deliver their best.
Aside from empowering teachings, quality schools also enable their student activities staff to arrange great athletic, artistic, and general extracurricular events.
The final marker of a quality school is what it advertises. A grade-obsessed school might center its messaging around the high-scoring percentage of its student body. An elitist school might market how exclusive it is. But a good school tracks and markets what matters. Quality schools' messaging is around student engagement and parents' satisfaction.
21K School is a global online school that provides flexible and affordable education to all. By rendering education geographically independent, 21K School brings knowledge to more people. Not only does it overcome the cost and location barriers to quality education, but it also makes learning easier for neurodivergent students.
21K School is a great option for quality education because of the following:
21K School's education methodology is centered around individual students' needs. It ensures that no student is left behind.
Among 21K School's curricula and certifications are Cambridge, O Levels, ICSE, CBSE, and CIE.
Even when conventional syllabus fails to account for shifts in technology and markets, 21K School adjusts its learning resources to make sure that no student graduates with outdated information.
21K School conducts regular teacher training to ensure that quality education is delivered remotely to students with different learning paces and styles.
The school collaborates with parents and involves them in their children's progress. Parents who might otherwise feel helpless in their wards' education feel empowered enrolling their children in 21K School.
Have questions? Here we are to help
Quality Education refers to education that makes one capable of living a financially and socially successful life. It is sustainable and instills in an individual a life-long interest in learning. The benefits of good education go beyond the individual and ripple out into society, leading to progress, prosperity, and familial cohesion. That's why the UN is highly interested in making it as accessible and equitable as possible.
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