Quality Mechanisms (for Equality of Opportunity)

The chapter provides a conceptual and practical overview of the complex structuring of quality in education from the perspective of the sociology of education. Throughout the history of schooling, quality in education has been inscribed in educational ideals and expectations. Quality in its broadest sense has been associated with the goals and purposes of education, the ideal of a good teacher, a good school, and so on, and has been a privilege of the few throughout most of the history of the West. Equality and equity became part of the educational discussion in the second half of the twentieth century, as discrimination against students based on gender, race, and socioeconomic background became increasingly debated. The concept of quality in education, on the other hand, emerged in the late 1970s and 1980s as part of broader political and economic processes of decentralization. The chapter outlines the evolution, shifts, and tensions of the concept of quality in education. It highlights the possibilities and limitations of various regulatory ideas inscribed in quality as such, focusing on how different conceptualizations of quality address, include, exclude, enable, or impede equity and justice in education.