Dimensions of Quality in Education Sultan Qaboos University College of Education ILT Department Dimensions of Quality in Education Page 24-30 Dr. Abdelrahman Mohamed Elhaj Spring 2014

Dimensions of Quality in Education Why quality assurance is important in higher education? The most commonly grouped dimensions of quality are (Owlia and Aspinwall, 1996): product, software and Service.

Garvin (1987) proposed 8 dimensions for product quality Product Quality Dimensions Garvin (1987) proposed 8 dimensions for product quality 1. Performance 4. Conformance 2. Features 5. Durability 3. Reliability 6. Serviceability

Product quality dimensions of education 1. Performance Refers to the abilities expected of students. (primary knowledge/skills) 2. Features Refers to the flexibility of the offering courses. (secondary/ supplementary knowledge/skills) 3. Reliability To what extent the knowledge/skills learned is correct, accurate and up-to-date.

Product quality dimensions of education 4. Conformance The degree to which an institutional programs/course meets established standards, plan and promises. 5. Durability It refers to the depth of learning. 6. Serviceability How well an institution handles customers’ complains?

Garvin (1987) proposed 9 dimensions for software quality Software Quality Dimensions Garvin (1987) proposed 9 dimensions for software quality 1. Correctness 2. Reliability 6. Maintainability 3. Efficiency 7. Testability 4. Integrity 8. Expandability 5. Usability 9. Reusability

Software quality dimensions of education Correctness The extent to which program/course complies with the specified requirements. Example 2. Reliability The degree to which knowledge/skills learned is correct, accurate and up-to-date. 3. Efficiency To what extent the knowledge/skills learned is applicable to the future career of graduates.

Software quality dimensions of education 4. Integrity The extent to which personal information is secure from unauthorized access. 5. Usability The ease of learning and the degree of communicativeness in the classroom. 6. Maintainability How well an institution handles customers’ complaints?

Software quality dimensions of education 7. Testability How fair examinations represent a subject of study?. 8. Expandability It refers to flexibility of the material. 9. Reusability The degree to which knowledge/skills learned is applicable to other fields.

Service Quality Dimensions Parasuraman (1985) identified 10 dimensions of service quality in education these are: 6. Credibility 1. Tangibles 7. Communication 2. Reliability 8. Courtesy 3. Responsiveness 9. Competence 4. Access 5. Understanding 10. Security

Service quality dimensions of education Reliability The degree to which education is correct, accurate and up-to-date 2. Responsiveness Willingness and readiness of staff to help students. 3. Competence The theoretical and practical knowledge of staff as well as other presentation skills.

Service quality dimensions of education 4. Access The extent to which staff are available for guidance and advice. 5. Courtesy Emotive and positive attitudes towards students. 6. Communication How well lecturers and students communicate in the classroom?

Service quality dimensions of education 7. Credibility The degree of trustworthy of the institution. 8. Security Confidentiality of information. 9. Understanding the customer Understanding students and their needs. 10. Tangibles State, sufficiency and availability of equipment and facilities.

A conceptual framework Based on the three dimensions in education Owlia and Aspinwall (1996) present a conceptual framework to represent quality dimensions in education:

System view of quality Higher education institutes have an input sub-system, a transformation sub-system and an output sub-system.

(group work for class discussion) Reflective exercise Identify at least 5 important characteristics of quality in education according to your view and explain why you consider these to be important. (group work for class discussion)