JURNAL PENJAMINAN MUTU Volume 5 Nomor 2 Agustus 2019

LEMBAGA PENJAMINAN MUTU ISSN : 2407-912X (Cetak)

INSTITUT HINDU DHARMA NEGERI ISSN : 2548-3110 (Online)
DENPASAR http://ejournal.ihdn.ac.id/index.php/JPM

QUALITY ASSURANCE AND THE PHILIPPINE EDUCATION

SYSTEM: INPUTS FROM FUTURE FILIPINO
SCHOOL LEADERS

Oleh
Inero V. Ancho
Philippine Normal University – Manila
[email protected]

diterima 22 Juni 2019, direvisi 19 Agustus 2019, diterbitkan 31 Agustus 2019

Abstract

This study involves future education leaders and managers in the

Philippines and their conceptual understanding of “quality” in the context of
education, the streams of teaching and learning to be specific. Respondents
were enrolled in a graduate program in a teacher education institution based
in Manila, Philippines and were asked the following: (1) concepts identified
with quality; (2) conceptual understanding of quality assurance; (3) quality
assurance mechanisms employed in the Philippine education system; and (4)
proposed quality assurance mechanisms to uplift the academic achievement of
Filipino students. It has been revealed that while future education leaders and
managers possess sufficient ideas and knowledge about quality assurance, it is
still vital to provide them with technical know-how and discourses on the
theoretical-practical connection of quality and students’ academic
achievement. Quality assurance mechanisms being implemented are
considered to be effective in the Philippine education system.

Keywords: Quality Assurance, Philippine Education System, Quality,

Academic Achievement, Education Leaders

I. INTRODUCTION concept evaluates the educational process to meet

Quality as a concept plays an integral role the standards. In higher education, keeping and
towards achievement of targeted goals and promoting standards is the fundamental goal of
objective. Mechanisms are put in place to ensure quality assurance (Stamoulas, 2006).
that what have been identified as key results In the context of education, quality can be
areas will be met under existing conditions. identified in most elements: quality education,
While quality is said to be a habit and a way of quality teachers, quality students, and so on.
life, barriers and challenges still exist to some Quality is being equated to favourable academic
organizations in relation to meeting desired outcomes and higher achievement level of
outcomes. Hoy et al. (2000) equates quality as a students, which is apparently the ultimate goal of

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teaching and learning, thus Laine et al. (2011) This paper is an attempt to capture the voices
insist that “school teaching profession requires of Filipino teachers in relation to quality in the
the best talents available.” Bogue & Hall (2003) context of education. It provides avenues for
consider it as parallel within measures of discussion on their conceptual understanding of
accountability and integrity. quality and quality assurance mechanisms being
Policy makers craft programs and activities implemented by the Department of Education
in relation to curriculum so students will have a (DepEd). Also, this study offers to gather ideas
meaningful school life experience. These policies of teachers as front liners of education regarding
are geared towards preparing the students to be policies that they have in mind that they think
lifelong learner. With these policies at hand, would definitely help raise students‟ academic
quality education is expected to be evident, given achievement.
the effective planning, execution, implementation, This study places its significance in
monitoring, and evaluation of programs and advocating the inclusivity of policy planning.
policies. Teachers‟ voices are those from the ground
To be able to meet the greatest determinant which need to heard and be considered as
of examination performance, the quality of the springboard for discussion on matters concerning
intake of the school is considered (Bradley and quality assurance and student achievement.
Taylor, 2003). Teachers are being trained and Almadani, et al (2011) concluded that the
provided with capacity building activities to be development of almost all quality assurance
able to meet the needs of the procedures lack research-based inquiries.
profession. Instructional practices are carefully Top-to-bottom approach on policy creation
planned and executed along authentic assessment would yield favourable outcomes since the
strategies to genuinely capture and assess student experiences and conceptions of teachers are
performance. This could be further enhanced by borne out of their own daily endeavour inside the
providing high quality teacher education (Chong classroom. With this in mind, ideas, perceptions,
and Ho, 2009). and notions of future school leaders are deemed
The dawn of the K-12 curriculum in the significant and crucial.
Philippines as mandated by RA 1083 is an Eventually, these individuals are poised to
avenue to strengthen the quest towards quality assumed leadership and management roles in
education in the country. Stakeholders are being private and public schools and other education
challenged to actively take part in preparing institutions. The kind of leadership they emulate
Filipino students to be „globally competitive‟ would apparently shape efforts geared toward the
individuals, prepared to pursue higher education, achievement of quality education. As Henard and
venture into entrepreneurship, or be employed. Mitterle (2010) put it, there exists a connection
To achieve the mandates of RA 1083, quality between governance and quality assurance.
assurance is one critical aspect that needs
attention. Mechanisms must be carefully II. METHODOLOGY
scrutinized to establish alignment with identified This study involves classroom teachers who
goals and objectives, particularly learning are currently pursuing their graduate studies
outcomes of the students. Stakeholders‟ roles and program in a Teacher Education Institution based
accountability are of the highest concerns in in Manila, Philippines. Eighteen respondents
ensuring that processes are planned, implemented, were asked to complete five-item open ended
and evaluated according to quality standards. questions. Generally, research instrument used
The need to capture the voices of future contained the following items:
educational leaders and managers is very timely
because it would serve as a mechanism to A.Write down four words that you identify with
determine future directions of the Philippine the word “quality.”
education system. It is crucial to note that these
individuals would occupy vital posts in the B.What is your conceptual understanding of
education sector, local or national scale, and they quality assurance?
would be the prime movers of policy-related
attempts. The implication also eventually lies on C.What quality assurance mechanisms do you
formal and informal training programs offered by know that are being employed in Philippine
higher education institution in preparing these Education system?
individuals.

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D.If you were to craft a policy on quality The table above sequences words frequently
assurance mechanisms in order to uplift the identified with quality. The top response is
academic achievement level of Filipino “standard”, followed by “excellent” and “value.”
students, what policy would you develop? It could be gleaned that these words can be
categorized as end product, process, or
The following table presents a summary of characteristics.
respondents: The following words, clustered as end results,
Qualitative replies were then collected, are related to quality according to the
tabulated, and tallied. Responses were coded to respondents: product-centered, beneficial,
highlight emerging themes, which were contentment, best, above average, worth,
eventually interpreted. effective, satisfaction, standard, excellent, value,
For the ethical conduct of research, efficiency, and best. Also, the following words
respondents were asked to sign an informed were clustered as process in relation to quality:
consent form in relation to their participation of status, functional, aim, and evident.
the study. Before each respondent signed the
informed consent form, they were given an Quality assurance as a concept
overview of the nature of the study, its purpose
and protocol for the use of collected data. They The respondents were also asked about their
were also given an assurance that responses conceptual understanding of quality assurance.
gathered would be for the sole use of this study Analysis of the responses showed that there are
only. tw o classifications on the conceptual
There were 16 female and 2 male respondents‟ conceptual understanding of quality
respondents with an average of 5.11 years in the assurance: as a process and as a measure.
teaching profession. All of them are enrolled in a Quality assurance as a process presents
master‟s level in educational leadership and practices and performance indicators that reflect
management in a teacher education institution the achievement of desired outcomes. Monitoring
based in Manila, Philippines. is also mentioned by respondents under this
category along with maintaining what has been
III. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION identified to be “at par with standards”.
This section presents the results and
discussion of the study. Each response has been The following are the specific responses under
carefully tabulated an analysed to provide this category:
thorough investigation of identified research
questions.
making sure results are best, excellent, or high
Quality and related words level

There were 42 unique words that respondents being confident about the output
identify with the word “quality”. Respondents
were asked to write down four words and a bulk giving a definite standard
of responses relates quality with the following
ideas: ensuring the system passed the standard
Table 1. Ranking of words mostly identified
with quality.
performing beyond the standard
Concept Rank
standard 1 making sure of the production of desired
excellent 2 outcome
value 3
efficiency 4 making sure to put the best you can provide; at
effective 4 par with standards
best 4
ensuring that set of goals is being carried in
accordance with stands

199 JURNAL PENJAMINAN MUTU

 monitors quality services rendered to audit, review, and assessment given accepted
standards of parameters.
maintaining the standards met On the other hand, internal measures are
those initiated by the institution, within the
producing the ideal institution itself. These are attempts at instituting
programs, projects and services that are central to
The second identified cluster views quality achievement of identified goals and objectives.
assurance as a measure. Concepts under this These internal efforts involve daily school
classification are considered to be conditions and operations, along with everyone in the
units reflecting observable value or performance. institutions (teachers, students, etc.)
These concepts exhibit characteristics that are
critical in nature. The following are the identified internal quality
assurance measures:
The following are the specific responses
under this category: salaries and incentives

worth sharing strategic plan

system is on its best condition human resource management strategies (hiring,

license, training)
parallelism between objective/goal and
performance administrative and systemic requirements

standards and criteria standardized test (National Achievement Test,

etc.)
performance satisfaction of one's work
academic competitions
guideline that encompass the totality of your
envisioned result student empowerment

Above-mentioned concepts are those that The last portion of the study captures
embody quality practices and treated as evidence perspectives of future educational leaders and
when it comes to concrete exhibits of quality. managers regarding crafting of policies in order
to uplift the academic achievement level of
Quality Assurance Mechanisms and the Filipino learners. Respondents were asked on any
Philippine Department of Education policy recommendations they would like to craft.
This inquiry is done in order to provide avenues
The mandate of the Department of Education for ideas on policy making that would possible
is successfully achieved given the quality contribute to increased achievement level of the
assurance mechanisms being observed. These students.
measures are consistently made consistent of the Inquiring about possible policy ideas in
system, thus a culture of quality is practiced. anchored on pressing issues that need solutions.
Respondents were also asked to list down quality By coming with an attempt to create a policy, an
assurance mechanisms they know that are being emerging problem is being recognized, thus
implemented by the Department of Education. policies are crafted to address these issues.
Respondents were able to identify measures Among quality related policy ideas proposed
being implemented and these could be by the respondents are the following:
categorized as those that involve either internal
or external participation of persons involved like strict implementation of strict implementation of
students, teachers, etc. the 10-point Agenda of the Goals for Education
External measures include quality
certifications like ISO, certification and raise teacher standards
assessment procedures, and accreditation. These
mechanisms are in place to subject an institution support on education research and development
Quality Assurance And The Philippine Education System: Inputs From Future Filipino 200
School Leaders │ Inero V. Ancho
 teacher training and strategies This would give them an advantage to fully
realize the role of quality mechanisms in
student promotion based on performance achieving the ultimate goal of teaching and
learning: student achievement.
authentic assessment While future educational leaders and
managers are exposed to quality assurance
strengthening QA office mechanisms in the Philippine education system,
particularly those implemented by the
boosting teacher performance Department of Education, they also possess
promising ideas to contribute to the success of
the education process. These ideas may be
teacher development
implemented at the institutional level, while
some are deemed considerable in the district,
catering multiple intelligences regional, and national levels.
The dawn of K-12 implementation years ago
medium of instruction has created an impact on the way future
educational leaders and managers view quality.
Efforts of the Philippine government in
With the above-mentioned proposed policy improving quality standards of education in the
ideas, issues and concerns related to quality country have been fruitful as it creates positive
assurance in the context of education were also consciousness among stakeholders that processes
uncovered. These include classroom assessment, involving teachers, parents, students, and others
language use, teacher and student competencies, are central to ensure success of teaching and
performance assessment, and others. learning.
Issues and challenges that confront the Future research could explore how current
education sector require proactive solutions and educational leaders and managers view quality
evidence-based approaches. As these problems and quality assurance matters in the Philippine
were recognized, educational leaders and education landscape. This could bring
managers are being invited to showcase skills opportunities and reflections on the gap with the
and competence in providing solutions to these way key persons address issues on education
issues. quality. Perspectives of these individuals would
It is a must for an educational leader and bring concrete understanding on mechanisms
manager to be equipped with quality concepts being put into place and establish rationale on
and competencies, thus, it becomes a habit and a future directions.
way of life. Quality is central to successful Eventually, marrying the viewpoints of
achievement of goals, whether in or out of the current and future educational leaders about
classroom. The ideas possessed by future quality efforts would shed light on the gap when
educational leaders and managers exhibit it comes to leadership transition, especially in
prospects for the future: grounded on present crafting long term quality standards in the
issues and established by past experiences. context of Philippine education system. These
inputs once weaved could pave way to a more
IV. CONCLUSION sustainable, responsive, and evidence- based
As future educational leaders and managers quality efforts.
pursue higher level of education, they carry with
them their own conceptual understanding of
quality and quality assurance. These ideas would
eventually shape and bring form to the kind of
leadership they would exhibit in the future. It is
high time that these individuals be provided with
theoretical and research-based foundation on
quality and quality assurance mechanism to back
up with professional practices.
There is a need to familiarize and eventually
help students be adept at trends and issues on
quality-related concerns in the field of education.

201 JURNAL PENJAMINAN MUTU

REFERENCES Laine, S., Begrstock-Sherrat, E., Lasagna, M.
Almadani, K. Reid, N., Rodrigues, S. (2011). (2011). Improving Teacher Quality,
Quality Assurance: A Pressing Problem Jossey-Bass, San Fransisco, Wiley.
for Education in the 21st Century. Stamoulas, A. (2006) „Greece before the Bologna
Problems of Education in the 21st Century, process: confronting or embracing quality
32 (9) assurance in higher education?‟ Higher
Bogue, E. G., & Hall, K. B. (2003). Quality and Education Policy, Vol. 19, No. 4, pp.433–
accountability in higher education: 445.
Improving policy, enhancing performance.
Westport, CT: Praeger.
Chong, S. and Ho, P. (2009) „Quality teaching
and learning: a quality assurance
framework for initial teacher preparation
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Hoy, C., Bayne-Jardine, C., Wood, M. (2000).
Improving Quality in Education, London:
Falmer Press.
Henard, F., & Mitterle, A. (2010). Governance
and quality guidelines in higher education:
A review of governance arrangements and
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School Leaders │ Inero V. Ancho