Qualitative Planning and Quality Problem in Education

Research shows that the quality of education, rather than its duration, is the determinant of the level of learning and ability and has a significant impact on economic growth. Therefore, access to quality education for all individuals is an indispensable part of Turkey's long-term development aspiration. In ensuring quality education, the planning phase is of primary importance.

In this article, the necessity of qualitative planning in education and the basic concepts related to the subject are explained, areas open to improvement are emphasized according to the subjects covered by qualitative educational planning, and recommendations are presented for our country.

Why is qualitative planning in education necessary?

Studies conducted by international organizations such as OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development), UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) and its affiliated IIEP (International Institute for Educational Planning), which are well known for their research in the field of educational planning, have shown that many countries have achieved significant quantitative improvements in education (such as schooling and budget allocated to education) since the 1960s. However, research has been intensified on this issue based on the negative situation of education in terms of quality compared to quantitative developments.

In this context, in addition to quantitative growth, reasons such as the information explosion, the need for education to adapt itself to scientific and technological changes, and the increasing social demand for education and its social-economic role have made it necessary to think about the qualitative aspects of education and to make some changes in this direction. 

It has become clear that successful growth depends on the solution of qualitative problems and the responsiveness of educational programs to the needs of students, society and the economy.

In Turkey, although the targets set in the planned period were not fully achieved, significant increases were realized in schooling rates and education expenditures. However, although manpower/education planners emphasized the qualitative dimension of education planning with the First Five-Year Development Plan (1963-1967), implementation was limited to the quantitative dimension, which included variables that could be measured continuously.

On the other hand, it is understood that the importance of the qualitative aspect of education planning gradually increased in the education reform efforts in 1971, and the Sixth Five-Year Development Plan (1990-1994) introduced the principle of "improving the quality of education at all levels". However, as in the education plans of other countries, our country is warned about quality, it is stated that measures will be taken, but very little information is provided.

As a result, qualitative education planning, which falls within the scope of education planning, is a subject of increasing importance and debate in our country. Because it has become a widely accepted view that the quality of education has a great impact on the success of the orientation towards economic growth.

What are the Concepts of Quality and Quality in Education?

In the dictionary meaning, quality is defined as "the condition that creates distinctions between entities that have nothing to do with quantity according to this or that aspect; the feature that indicates how something is or distinguishes something from others". Another meaning is the characteristic of something being good or bad, in short, quality.

Quality in education is related to two concepts: These are effectiveness and efficiency. Effectiveness in education is related to the degree to which education achieves its objectives. For this reason;

- Educational inputs such as students, teachers and equipment,

- Application of teaching methods,

- Use of teaching aids,

- The educational process, such as the classroom environment, and assessment and evaluation activities have a direct impact on the effectiveness of education. In other words, the higher the quality of educational inputs, process and feedback, the higher the effectiveness of education.

The effectiveness of education, on the other hand, refers to the degree of conformity of the product that emerges at the end of the education process with the manpower requirements of the country. In other words, the fact that educational institutions train people suitable for the job/market and meet the needs of contemporary society are accepted as indicators of high educational effectiveness. In this context, it can be said that all elements that determine the effectiveness and efficiency of education affect the quality of education.

As can be understood from the definitions and explanations, qualitative education planning is the qualitative decisions regarding the education system, process, product and the market and society that use the product. These decisions regarding the qualitative dimension of education planning actually include the issues that fall within the scope of qualitative education planning.

Which topics does qualitative education planning cover?

Curriculum: The first thing that comes to mind when the concept of quality in education is mentioned is curriculum. Therefore, the process of developing an educational program and its problem areas fall within the scope of qualitative educational planning. An educational program consists of objectives that show what the characteristics to be gained in education are, instructional situations that specify how they will be gained, and measurement and evaluation methods to determine how much the characteristics specified in the objectives have been gained by the students.

Objectives are also used as a criterion for evaluating quality when answering the question "good for what?" On the other hand, the education program and especially the objectives,

- Current,

- It should be prepared in accordance with modern principles such as scientificity, democracy and equality of opportunity in order to respond to manpower and other needs.

The content of education should be organized in a way that puts the judgments of scientific research into practice and aims to raise educational standards to the level of universal criteria. One of the problems of the Turkish Education System is that the curriculum and its content cannot be developed within the scope of a scientific and systematic model. Reasons such as the high influence of political institutions on education programs, the distancing of educational institutions from training the manpower required by the market, and the fact that the State Planning Organization (SPO) has been reorganized in such a way that it cannot influence education planning processes much, lead to significant quality problems in the context of education programs.

Teachers: Teachers are the driving force that will ensure contemporary development in education. Nothing can be realized without a cadre of educators who are capable of keeping up with social change and development, who are prone to self-renewal, and who can bring solutions to new problems. In order for teachers to have these qualifications, it is considered appropriate to address the following issues within the scope of qualitative training planning:

- Duration of trainings: At least undergraduate level education for primary school teachers and graduate level education for secondary school teachers should be considered as the minimum requirement for a qualified teaching staff.

- Socio-economic status: Studies in many countries have shown that the status of teachers in the professional ranking is quite low. In one study, the teaching profession was evaluated more negatively than other professions in terms of teachers' level of education and earnings. Teaching should be seen as a profession that requires general culture, field knowledge and pedagogical formation, in short, a profession that requires specialization and can be practiced by professionals.

Unfortunately, Turkey ranks low among OECD countries in terms of teacher salaries according to purchasing power.

- Age: Teachers have an age at which they are productive in the teaching process. The age of teachers can be an important factor in determining the teaching methods they use. In general, 27% of teachers in Turkey are 30 years old or younger and 69% are under 40 years old. In other words, more than two thirds of teachers are under the age of 40. While this situation has its advantages and limitations, it can be said that Turkey is in a better position than all other OECD countries in terms of the proportion of young teachers.

- Student/teacher ratio: One of the factors that reduce the quality of education in our education system is overcrowded classrooms. This is because modern teaching methods can be appropriate and efficient for classes with a small number of students. On the other hand, crowded classrooms also negatively affect teacher motivation. Because classes with a low number of students provide comfort for the teacher.

- Free time given to teachers: Teachers having free time for self-development, research and other activities outside the classroom has a positive impact on the quality of education. However, teachers who do not utilize their free time in ways such as reading, fine arts, games, sports, excursions, entertainment, etc. in a way that is beneficial to themselves and the educational process will not be able to keep up with change in this information age, let alone improve the quality of education.

- In-service training programs: In-service training programs play an important role in teachers' professional development and adaptation to change. The quality of teachers, and therefore the quality of education, should be improved through in-service training programs to be planned within the scope of continuous education.

- Number of teachers per inspector: One of the elements that determine the quality of education is the supervision and evaluation process. The supervision and evaluation process can increase both the effectiveness and efficiency of education. In this context, the more teachers are supervised and evaluated by a sufficient number of inspectors, the more feedback is provided to the education process.

Students The issues that affect the quality of education in terms of students and should be taken into account in qualitative education planning are as follows:

- Achievement in standardized tests: The Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) is an international monitoring study developed by the OECD. In the latest examinations, Turkey ranked at the bottom (30th and below) among 37 OECD countries. Analyses by school type revealed that Science High School students were the most successful student group in all three areas. Similarly, Anatolian High School students outperformed Anatolian Imam Hatip High School students and Vocational and Technical Anatolian High School students.

- Grade retention and dropouts: A decrease is not always an indicator of quality.

- Teacher/student relations: Traditional behaviors continue to prevail in Turkey in terms of teacher-student relations. Some studies have shown that Turkish students have high levels of anxiety. This indicates that Turkish students are more anxious, fearful and restless in their school life than their peers in some countries. It is possible to say that these feelings are based on cultural values, limitations imposed by punishments and teacher-student relationships that are not very comfortable. However, as the level of anxiety and fear increases, school achievement decreases.

- Rules on student admission to schools,

- The existence of student associations,

- Number of students awarded scholarships.

Teaching Duration and Classes: Qualitative education planning issues under this heading are as follows:

- Elimination of dual/triple education,

- Number of students per class,

- Contemporary teaching methods and educational technology applications,

- Time allocated for teaching.

Equipment and Tools: Issues related to equipment and tools can be listed as follows:

- Classroom square meters per student,

- Books, audio-visual teaching tools, materials and aids per student,

- Ratio of students per computer,

- Vehicles

- Other teaching staff.

Management and Auxiliary Specialized Services: Under this heading, the following issues play a role in qualitative education planning:

- A modern management and inspection system,

- Guidance and psychological counseling services: Guidance and counseling services in education include a wide range of psychological help for students' vocational, educational and personal problems. These services are an integral part of education in that they aim to develop students' emotional capacity.

- Research units,

- Program and evaluation units.

What is the Relationship between Quality Improvement/Decline and Cost?

The meaning or indicators of quality decline in education can be considered in three groups. These are; 1) a proportional decrease in the average achievement of students, 2) a decrease in the rate of all kinds of inputs per student, and 3) educational programs lagging behind scientific and technological developments and socio-economic needs. Of these, increasing unit costs per student or all kinds of inputs does not necessarily imply an increase in quality. In other words, an expensive education does not always mean quality. Therefore, unit costs and the quality problem should be evaluated together with the concept of efficiency in education.

Most of the measures to improve quality require an increase in expenditures on education. However, as can be seen, the relationship between the amount of education expenditures and the quality of education services is quite complex. Although it cannot be claimed that all kinds of expenditures in education are quality-enhancing, in case of an increase in educational services, expenditures should also be increased sufficiently in order to maintain quality.

Conclusion and Recommendations:

From the explanations presented above, it may seem that the separation of the quantitative and qualitative aspects of educational planning is artificial. However, it is also clear that this separation helps to consider both dimensions of educational planning. Thus, education can be seen as a multidimensional, dynamic system that not only grows but also constantly renews and improves itself and keeps pace with changing conditions.

At the same time, the concept of "quality" or "qualitative educational planning" is understood to be a multidimensional and complex process. This feature shows that qualitative planning has to be based on a very strong research foundation. Moreover, a qualitative planning that is not based on research may result in high costs as well as wrong decisions.

In this context, it is important that the following conclusions and recommendations regarding qualitative educational planning and quality problems be considered and evaluated with a scientific, multidimensional approach and high sensitivity.

In our country, a qualitative planning integrated with quantitative education planning is now on the agenda. Likewise, there is a need for manpower planning approaches that take more into account the qualifications of manpower.

Any changes that are considered to be made within the scope of qualitative education planning should be handled by considering the whole system. Because the issue or problem of qualification requires a holistic system approach rather than other processes.

Considering that a large part of Turkey's total population is young and of general education age, and that this human capital resource has a comparative advantage in the development and international arena, national economic priorities should be determined in a way to develop this resource. It is of primary importance to increase the share of the education sector in the Gross National Product (GNP) to the level of developed countries.

Insufficient coordination between education planning and industrial development leads to a shortage of qualified labor. Vocational and technical education policies, which have a low level of success but which are most needed, need to be developed to meet the economic demand and deficiencies need to be eliminated.

A program development and evaluation unit should be established to continuously change education programs according to modern, scientific and technological changes, social and economic developments and needs, and this unit should have a selected model to be used. This institution should be established in a dynamic structure that is in contact with the outside world, its structure should be protected against political volatility, and it should be provided with an effective source of financing.

Recognizing that school management requires both leadership and professional skills, administrators should be provided with the necessary training and support in the areas of professional skills and leadership. It is very important to establish the necessary criteria (criteria, principles) by giving importance to merit in the appointment of school administrators and to increase the level of responsibility and accountability of school principals.

Effective participation of teacher training institutions in education planning processes should be ensured. It is thought that eliminating this unfair situation by preventing teachers, who are the outputs of these institutions, from being employed in different positions and statuses (such as contracted, paid, permanent) and receiving significantly different salaries will significantly increase the motivation levels of teachers.

As a professional profession, teaching requires at least a bachelor's degree (preferably a master's degree). However, providing teachers with effective and efficient in-service trainings on rapidly increasing scientific and technological developments will improve the quality of education.

As it is known, those who do not take the relevant courses of Educational Science (pedagogical formation) at universities cannot become teachers. Each teacher takes courses such as "Introduction to Education", "Principles and Methods of Education", "Classroom Management", "Special Teaching Methods", "Teaching Practice", "Measurement and Evaluation in Education", "Educational Psychology", "Instructional Technologies" along with courses in his/her field of specialization, and if he/she is not successful in these courses, he/she cannot receive a "teacher" diploma. In other words, just as a doctor specializes with the education he/she receives, teaching becomes a profession of specialization with the education received. The teacher's certificate of specialization is the diploma of those who pass the specified courses. Graduates of education faculties are referred to as "teachers" even if they cannot be appointed or find a job.

It is considered that this negative discrimination that would result from making teachers "specialists" or "head teachers" with an exam based on a 500-page text and rote memorization, rather than on their university education, years of experience in schools and achievements in the profession, would decrease the motivation levels of teachers and the quality of education. If a promotion and seniority system is to be implemented, the Ministry of National Education should immediately abandon this exam and find a more equitable model. That model can only be found by coming together with teacher representatives, regardless of their unions.

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