Quality and indicators of quality in South African education: A critical appraisal

A major priority for the post-apartheid government in South Africa is the provision of a universal quality education. This article examines quality in the context of education reform, attempts to conceptualise quality, and critically reviews both the discourse and practice of quality interventions in South Africa from the late 1980s to the present. It is argued that work on quality has been influenced by the modernising agenda, and that this has led to two differing research strands. It is also suggested that the work on quality has been affected by the way in which education change is viewed. Three arguments are made in relation to change: that change must be viewed as a process rather than an event; that positive mandated change at the policy and legislation level has not necessarily led to change at the school level; and that education change has emphasised structure and putting systems in place rather than pedagogy and the processes of teaching and learning. The paper concludes by identifying the gaps in policy and research on quality. It calls for more qualitative and empirical school and classroom research, and suggests strategic areas for quality enhancement at the school level.