In the following article, some terms and aspects of quality in general and quality in education are analyzed and considered, theoretical aspects and factors that affect educational problems are reviewed, emphasizing other factors that directly affect.
Introduction
The educational problem is so serious that it requires great agreements and challenges from all. All the efforts that can be made to improve education in a country will always be few, the magnitude of the task is gigantic, despite the fact that there are quality indicators, the variables derived from the educational system are innumerable, so all the factors that converge there should be considered. Education requires a process of transformation and modernization, possibly with a vision of reengineering.
For a long time the concept of quality in education has been talked about, there is an extensive bibliography that defines this term, however in particular, I assume that as long as there is no change in attitude in the actors who participate, it will never be possible to speak of educational quality and less than effective schools.
So that education can be universalized and talk about educational quality, as an ideological concept that allows us to see reality; It is necessary to face first of all the permanent training that society demands, this implies going beyond the challenges posed in any educational program, incorporating the term of quality in all organizational processes more than in products.
Educational quality
Quality is a word as abstract and as complex as the same indicators used to measure it, which everyone knows what it is, but few know how to define it, etymologically speaking, quality derives from the Latin qualitas and according to the dictionary of the real Spanish academy it means, property or set of properties inherent to a thing that allows it to be appreciated as equal, better or worse than the rest of its kind.
Education in a school depends on educational models, as well as on the organizational models of the educational center itself.
An educational model that presents a school, must be holistic, systemic and real, based on a theoretical and practical basis aimed at the training of the human being, and above all aimed at the society that today demands, with profound transformations, aimed at in search of educational quality.
Hence, the concept of quality has been discussed in various ways, by different specialists and scholars of management in organizations. Everyone has a very particular way of defining it, however they all agree, what changes is the way of expressing the concept, they say practically the same thing, but with different words.
Therefore, the interesting thing about all this is knowing how to differentiate the quality from what is not.
An interesting definition of the term quality is the one offered by Mortimore (1991): «The quality school is one that promotes the progress of its students in a wide range of intellectual, social, moral and emotional achievements, taking into account their level socioeconomic status, their family environment and their prior learning. An effective school system is one that maximizes the ability of schools to achieve these results. "
Seen this concept with a comprehensive perspective, it offers an approximation to what could really be thought of what educational quality is, where it is observed that the author takes into consideration a series of factors that necessarily form part of the educational context, being appropriate point out that teacher training should be a priority.
Given the above considerations, and recalling Deming, it can be referred to then that educational quality is a set of characteristics inherent in the provision of a service to meet the needs of the client and other interested parties. Giving added value to any activity that is carried out. As it is applied in a company.
We therefore have that quality will be oriented towards excellence and continuous improvement of teaching and will seek to ensure that all variables that intervene in the training of students are controlled.
It is necessary to emphasize that in the business world the term total quality is common, while with regard to education it is relatively new, this concept emerged in the postwar period to raise standardized values of quality, so it would be interesting to incorporate it into educational centers.
In this order of ideas, it can be added that total quality has already had its version in the educational field, undergoing profound transformations, however it has not yet finished fitting, due to the paradigm that educational institutions are not companies, which results in a certain distrust in the application of this concept.
It should be considered that to incorporate the term of total quality, the school needs to be very clear about its educational project, its mission, its vision, the educational and institutional policies, its proposals within the action plans, its structure and above all its management. in each of the processes carried out there.
On the other hand, it should be considered that the advantages offered by total quality in educational centers are astonishing, since they allow us to see the school as a whole, in a systemic way, linked to its socioeconomic environment.
Therefore, it is time to carry out the corresponding corrective action, that is, to change the conception of Quality in Education.
Likewise, multiple indicators indicate that the world is in the aftermath of the industrial age. A new era has begun, it does not yet have a definitive name, some call it the " era of computer science or information ", others the "era of knowledge."
Regardless of the name, in this new era the leading role is played by knowledge, therefore, it must be given through educational institutions, where all processes are given with quality indicators.
In any case, the demand for quality has become an essential concern in education, since quality is an inherent factor in the human being. The capital of an organization is given by the human quality of its people, its education and its culture, therefore, the formation of man is the responsibility of all those who have the possibility of obtaining the best of the individual, that is, to educate him.
Therefore, when a society is founded through education and knowledge towards quality culture, that humanity will be ready for the progress and prosperity of all its members.
Hence the importance of professional and personal training, as is known, teachers are trained in a comprehensive way, therefore universities must incorporate subjects within the curriculum that are in line with the current time, for no one is a secret that even the texts used in the different subjects taught in some study houses are from very old dates, which results in the formation of the typical traditional teacher.
Therefore, it is necessary to retake what has been described in the previous paragraphs, if there is no update in the subjects taught, there will never be success in educational management.
It is then proposed that, as well as the attitude is considered essential, there are other factors to take into account such as: the organizational climate, institutional values, the material resources available, audiovisual equipment, technology, administrative management from the direction of the school, the core pedagogical process (PEIC, educational projects allow the integrated action of the different actors, PA, didactic methodology, strategies used, evaluation, others), institutional evaluation, infrastructure, organizational climate, organizational culture, active participation of parents and representatives of the organizations that make life in the school and community community, social and community demands, planning, decision-making, teamwork, continuous improvement,and as a last factor, never forget the human quality that the teacher must have, bearing in mind that the main client is the student.
Another element to consider is the idea of added value, the educational center is effective if the results obtained with its students are more than expected in comparison with other schools that serve students with similar characteristics.
Likewise, an effective school is one that deals with the integral development of the learner, that is, not only in the areas of language and mathematics, it is necessary to reinforce values, mental and physical health, remembering that the personality is being formed of student.
Another aspect to consider is that if there is no human quality, it will never be possible to speak of quality, of educational reform and in order for a change in attitude to take place, a necessary condition is to have the participation of the teaching staff, and the interrelation that must exist in the structures of the educational system, since political and social forces as well as economic sectors continually place new demands on the educational system to keep pace with the social, cultural and labor changes that an entire society requires, and especially with knowledge management.
In the framework of the previous observations, it is necessary to bear in mind the training of teachers(because they can intervene in the formation of the whole human being) because education is very complex, for this, there is a variety of literature that offers a range of knowledge, among which we can suggest: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (Covey), Classroom Management (Costa), Emotional Intelligence (Goleman), Multiple Intelligences (Gadner), Relaxation Techniques, Visualization, Cognitive Driving (Costa), Tools for Thinking (Machado), among others, which can contribute to the teacher, literally speaking, to be more intelligent, in the same way that he / she is trained with a more positive character, which will allow the use of strategies in the face of any circumstance that arises in the day-to-day educational work.
It is appropriate to mention that the schools of excellence are framed in the movements carried out by the Quality Management System, but this is accompanied by the knowledge society, by new technologies, taking these aspects into consideration, it would be in a position to offer the best education that has ever been had, constantly making the appropriate changes in all the elements that affect the basic curriculum as they change with time and space.
Within this order of ideas, when talking about knowledge management, it must be borne in mind that its objective is that the experience and knowledge of the people of a center or organization can be transferred to others and constitute a resource for everyone in the organization.
According to Duran (2002), Knowledge management entails:
• Independent knowledge of people.
• Share this knowledge and make it easily accessible to all.
Seen in this way, it happens then that in order for the transformation processes required by the educational system to be correctly guided, first of all, the structural conditions required by this model must be defined. Being, without any doubt, quality an indicator that guides a truly transformation in any educational center.
Educational change does not occur due to the compliance and applicability of a certain project or program, it is rather observed through the effective results obtained in this exchange of adaptation and decision-making carried out by the actors involved in it.
Analyzing all the factors that influence the quality of schools, it is finally determined that the most important factor is the teacher and their work in the classroom.
According to the reasoning that has been carried out, the scenario does not look so easy, governments must be committed and be responsible for all actions involved in training teachers, offering everything necessary so that education is within reach of all, only in this way can educational quality be achieved.
The preceding analysis leads us to know that there is another factor that converges, such as the economic one, since a greater investment is required in the education sector. There is no development in a country if the economic system is not equitably distributed, from training to production and scientific contribution to development.
Obviously, the analysis is not finished yet, since only some reflections have been presented so that we all speak in the same language, with similar criteria and concepts.
Information sources
Durán Bellonch, MM (2002). Cultural audit of a high technology company with an initial procedure in the implementation of a continuing training strategy: the management of the connection. Doctoral thesis:
Mortimore (1991) The Use of Performance Indicators, Paris, OECD.
