Quality and Education

There are now widespread debates about the role of the state and the nature of accountability in the public services, in philosophical and political arenas. This book addresses the major practical and philosophical issues in the area of education, focusing on the way in which quality education is viewed by different groups. Major issues in debates about quality of education are addressed. These include: competing conceptions of education, the nature of educational aims, curricular diversity, arguments about standards and the usefulness of "value added" measures, the role of the market, education and equality, inspection and the influence of private sector conceptions of quality on education. The book aims to combine philosophical rigor with practical relevance. It engages with major philosophical discussions and draws out the policy issues that these are relevant to. It should appeal to audiences in the philosophical, political and policy fields.

Introduction. 1. Manufacturing Educational Quality. 2. Education: A Contested Concept. 3. The Aims of Education Revisited. 4. Constructing Worthwhile Curricula. 5. A Defence of Educational Standards. 6. Adding Educational Value. 7. Practising Valuable Education. 8. Satisfying the Customer: Education in the Market Place. 9. Equality, Quality and Diversity. 10. Inspecting Educational Quality. 11. Conclusion: Education, Quality and Democracy. References.