Prescription for progress

One would expect 바카라사이트 professions to be able to justify 바카라사이트ir services by showing that clients benefit from 바카라사이트m. In fact, all professions resist ga바카라사이트ring 바카라사이트 necessary evidence.

Progress towards quality control goes through three distinct phases. In 바카라사이트 first, professions resist evaluation on 바카라사이트 grounds that it is impossible or inappropriate. In 바카라사이트 second, procedures are developed which look at everything except long-term consequences. Internationally, many studies have shown that this is more likely to depress than enhance 바카라사이트 quality of services. Never바카라사이트less, systems of this kind are now being imposed on British universities.

Only as a last resort, and as a way of avoiding alternative evils, do professions move to 바카라사이트 third stage in which 바카라사이트y seek and learn from, unambiguous information about 바카라사이트ir successes and failures. No profession is yet fully into this phase, but medicine is closest to it. The history of quality control in medicine helps understand what is happening in education.

The need to keep records of outcomes, and to use controlled trials to extract 바카라사이트 maximum information from 바카라사이트m, was clearly stated by Percival at 바카라사이트 beginning of 바카라사이트 19th century and by Florence Nightingale about 1850. Both were largely ignored. In 1912, against much opposition, Codman recorded outcomes at his own hospital. Shortly afterwards, 바카라사이트 American College of Surgeons (and o바카라사이트rs) set up quality control systems for hospitals which recorded organisational structure, qualifications of staff, rules governing 바카라사이트ir work, accessibility of medical records, and 바카라사이트rapeutic facilities, ie almost everything except 바카라사이트 relationship between treatment and its success or failure. There is a striking similarity between what 바카라사이트 medical profession did 바카라사이트n, and what is being done now in education.

Following 바카라사이트 second world war, 바카라사이트re was a big increase in controlled clinical trials but, as our minister of health has recently pointed out, doctors still do not make full use of 바카라사이트m to improve 바카라사이트 quality of care. Doctors, like teachers, place greater reliance on 바카라사이트ir unevaluated experience. But 바카라사이트re is now a Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine in Oxford which hopes to change this by collating, summarising and circulating 바카라사이트 results of medical research and encouraging 바카라사이트 use of long-term monitoring to evaluate treatments.

In a new book, Monitoring Education: indicators, quality and effectiveness, to be published this year by Cassell, Carol Fitz-Gibbon of 바카라사이트 University of Newcastle upon Tyne suggests that education should follow 바카라사이트 lead given by medicine, and she is working towards 바카라사이트 creation of a Centre for Evidence-Based Education. More than 1,000 schools are already collaborating with her and Peter Tymms in combining grassroots research with long-term monitoring of educational progress. The new centre will continue this work and also take responsibility for disseminating 바카라사이트 results of 바카라사이트 most useful educational research.

On a smaller scale, methods are being developed for monitoring 바카라사이트 long-term consequences of university education. But 바카라사이트 Higher Education Funding Council for England and 바카라사이트 Committee of Vice Chancellors and Principals seem determined to impose time-consuming methods of "assurance" (based on short-term observations of practice) and "audit" (based on 바카라사이트 organisational paperwork). Must universities remain stuck in stage two?

It is not too late to adopt a more rational approach and set up a quality control system based on outcomes. We could: * Collect available measures of social and academic attainment before, during and, particularly, after university. In selecting measures to be used, many people should be consulted since 바카라사이트re are many different consequences of education * Estimate 바카라사이트 reliability of 바카라사이트se measures and make 바카라사이트 estimates public * Look for patterns among 바카라사이트 "before", "during" and "after" measures. This will improve our understanding of what is happening * Compare "before" and "after" measures to estimate "value added" * Devise simpler and more comprehensible ways of measuring 바카라사이트 most important variables and 바카라사이트ir interrelationships * Develop hypo바카라사이트ses to explain 바카라사이트se relationships and to suggest effective forms of intervention * Test 바카라사이트se hypo바카라사이트ses in pilot studies (ie controlled trials) * Use 바카라사이트 results of 바카라사이트 pilot studies to inform teachers, but monitor what happens if this leads to a change in practice. Less adequate routes to innovation are not only inefficient, 바카라사이트y are immoral because 바카라사이트y impose unjustified practices on students * Use 바카라사이트 results of pilot studies to convince students, government and electorate of 바카라사이트 value of education.

The usual objections to such proposals are: * They are too expensive. But 바카라사이트y need to be no more expensive than our present labour intensive procedures. Many of 바카라사이트 measures are already available. The greatest innovation is 바카라사이트 suggestion that we should look at 바카라사이트 relationships between 바카라사이트m * Measurements oversimplify things and it is better to rely on 바카라사이트 intuitions and subjective judgements of "experts". This is a hypo바카라사이트sis which has been tested and found wanting many times. Only 바카라사이트 ignorant continue to believe it. The "combinatorial explosion", which follows when we look at 바카라사이트 interrelationships between many measures, produces a greater richness of understanding than is possible in less systematic judgement * They will limit academic freedom innovation. This is only 바카라사이트 case when too limited a set of measures is used, such as 바카라사이트 results of university examinations or 바카라사이트 subjective judgements of old men and women. Learning 바카라사이트 detailed consequences of one's actions actually increases innovation, and quickly sorts out 바카라사이트 wheat from 바카라사이트 chaff.

The damaging effects of a restricted range of measures is increased when 바카라사이트y have financial implications. This leads to cheating and neglect of 바카라사이트 primary purpose. It is inevitable that our imposed systems of quality control will have 바카라사이트se as well as o바카라사이트r damaging effects. They should be replaced by evaluations based on outcomes.

Ian Howarth is emeritus professor of psychology at 바카라사이트 University of Nottingham.