Quality Education in Non

The Province of Manitoba (2010) states that, non-funded private schools also referred to as independent schools, are run by individuals or groups of people whom have to be licensed by a representative of the public schools Act which was created in order to ensure that the children are getting an equivalent level of education to that provided in pubic schools.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Quality Education in Non-Funded Private Schools specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Non funded private schools do not have to meet some of the requirements that funded private schools have to for instance, hiring certified teachers of the country they are operating in and use of the same provincially approved syllabus. Non-funded private schools are run as businesses and they have the right of admission and they get their funds from their students paying fees and tuition money. Therefore, the income and expenditure of th e school depends on how much money the parents of the students are willing to spend which varies from school to school depending on the location of the school, the peer tuitions and the schools financial donation. Mortimore (1991, 34) notes â€Å"extravagant tuition rates in these schools claim are used to fund high salaries for the teachers and afford improved environments for learning, a low student to teacher ratio, undersized class quotients and services like, libraries, computer and science laboratories.† In terms of education, non-funded private schools have to offer top of the range education to their students and also provide first-rate extra curricular activities as that is the main reason they are up and running. Parents prefer private schools only if the eminence of education is equal to the extravagant high charges demanded by the schools. Looking at the explanation of private schools overcharging their clients one often wonders why teachers are always looking for better paying jobs as they claim that they are overworked and underpaid. So the question is why then do private schools overcharge their clients and underpay their staff? Where does all the money go? The directors and owners of the school may be exploiting their clients and their staff while keeping all the money for themselves.Advertising Looking for research paper on education? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More According to Armstrong (2000, 56), quality in education is defined as the maximum use of school systems to bring forth an individual who will use the theory learned in class practically and prosper in life. Quality in education is signified by the characterized inspection which creates alertness which in turn raises purpose for government policy makers and politicians. It has been argued that the reporting system put to use in the schools inspections is crucial for supplying advice on progression in terms of both provi sion and the quality of education. The definition helps one learn that quality education will help an individual become a better person in the society as this quality education will equip the individual with necessary tools to enable one to give back to the society through his occupation. This definition on the other hand also leads to the conclusion that people who did not have quality education do not flourish in life. This is not true as a person’s success does not depend only on the quality of education they received as children. Quality and effectiveness in education go hand in hand, as the higher the quality of education, the more the effectiveness of the education, when put to use whether practically or theoretically. Quality and effectiveness however, vary from person to person what one person may think is quality and effective, is not what another person may look at as quality and effective. Levels of quality and effectiveness vary also from school to school as there is no definite universal measurement used to determine the quality and effectiveness in schools or in individuals. (Armstrong 2000 p4) School quality and effectiveness are linked to each other as they are interdependent. Effectiveness of education relies on the quality of education offered, if one offers low quality of education then the effectiveness and efficiency of that education will be low, if the quality of education offered is high, then the effectiveness and efficiency of education is also high.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Quality Education in Non-Funded Private Schools specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More In reference to Mortimore (1991, 34) effectiveness in schools has brought about important modifications in the education policy in many countries by stressing the answerability of schools and the reliability of education providers to provide all children with opportunities for elevated succe ss hence developing the dire need for school improvement. Murphy (1992, 98) emphasizes that school effectiveness indicated the necessity for school improvement in specific by concentrating on adjustable school aspects like the time day to have certain subjects taught. School quality and effectiveness are important as they not only help students, parents and government officials to know which schools are performing well but they also encourage students to work hard to keep the quality and effectiveness of the school in check. In the same case school quality and effectiveness may also be affected when the students and teachers slack off as they see their school quality and effectiveness is moderate. This slacking off would lead to a drop in the quality and effectiveness of the school. Business forces that play a part in the quality and effectiveness in schools are the amount of resources the school has at its disposal and the end result of the school and individual students. The fact that parents dig into their pockets to fund the high level of education their children receive from non-funded private schools, means that they expect their children to get good quality education to ensure their children can use the education they have received to better themselves. This in itself is a business as they invest into their children’s education and they expect returns that are profitable, people make investments expecting high returns and it no different when it comes to schools and education. Resources at the schools disposal may influence the students to concentrate on extra curricular activities that would in turn affect their studies this would affect the quality and effectiveness of the school.Advertising Looking for research paper on education? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More According to Armstrong (1990, 6), quality in non-state funded private schools is defined by how well the students perform in their education and other co-curricular activities. The board of governors, teachers, parents and government officials monitor the quality in non-state funded private schools so that they can pin point out areas that need to be changed or improved upon so as to maintain the quality of the school. Monitoring is done through inspection of the curriculum to find out if the level and quality of education offered in these schools is equivalent to the level and quality of education offered in public schools. Quality in schools and education is measured through fitness for purpose in the non-state funded private schools. Through the fitness for purpose, the school is able to ascertain a position in the competitive market of education, to obtain proof of accomplishment and attainment and to make sure that their clients are content and get value for their money. This m ethod of measuring quality in non-funded private schools scrutinizes the requirements of the schools mission statement, its aspirations, its intentions and its learning end products. Another method used to rate the quality of education in non-state funded private schools is by use of best practice. Best practice is a method in which researchers compare and contrast these schools with the schools known to provide the best level of education in the same categories (Armstrong 2000, 5). According to Owen (1999, 2) benchmarking is way of improving that exploits other peoples superior performance to progress or develop one owns processes. Benchmarking is a system of recognizing what must be developed, looking for ways to enhance the developments then putting into practice these developments. In short, bench marking is used as a way on improving one school by using other schools ideas. The state sector uses industry standards and accountability to measure quality in schools and education. Industry standards are used to find out whether the non-funded private schools are needed and if the level of education they offer is up to standard with the public schools at nation wide and universal standards (Armstrong, 2000, 6). In reference to Powell (1991 56) Accountability on the other hand is the measurement of accomplishment markers for competence and success. The state uses accountability to show value for money and to validate efficiency in these schools. According to Lock (2000), non-funded private schools area accountable to the public as these schools can easily go out of business and close down if their customers are not content with how they run eh school or the results the schools offers. In this way non-funded private schools become accountable as they use the policy customer is always right. Non-funded private schools run by religious organizations are accountable to the particular religion that funds the school. For example Lutheran schools teach religious educa tion in accordance to Lutheran religious views, values and beliefs. Non-funded private schools are also accountable to the state the state through a number of laws and regulations put in place by the government that they have to follow like the provision of safety provisions in the schools for both students and staff and medical facilities in the school at all hours when the school is in session. Quality, school improvement, effective leadership and strategic planning are linked as they influence each other and play a role in the outcomes of each other. According to Hopkins, Ainscow, West (1994, 78), school efficiency is aimed at understanding, knowing without bias how education works and to give and explanation of its progression and results in provisions of unwavering causes and effects. Educational practitioners, policy makers and school improvers are paying close attention to changes of education (Hopkins 1995, 43). These changes however needs and has to have the assistance of the school, teachers and the community as a whole. If a schools lacks efficient leadership then it means there will be no order on the school therefore all the other concepts like quality, improvement and planning will prove wanting. In simple terms these concepts must work together for the success, prosperity and as an advantage to the school. If teachers, the community and the school at large do not accept changes that could improve the school then the quality, improvement, leadership and planning would be affected and questioned changes like this include changes in the curriculum the addition and removal of some material that the students need to learn (Powell 1991, 106). Rehiman and Reniham (1988, 88) have described school image to be â€Å"the sum of subjective opinions about the quality of the learning and social environment.† Through this definition we then come to the conclusion that; the concepts of school effectiveness and quality influence how a school is viewed in the eyes of the public and the community. A school therefore has to have certain standards of quality and effectiveness so as to maintain a good image in the community. According to Glickman, (1987, 623), an optimistic or encouraging image of a school is affected by the effectiveness of the teaching learning environment in the school. A positive impression includes both goodness and efficiency. Since both these concepts of quality and effectiveness are interlinked and dependent on each other they work hand in hand to produce an image of the school to the community. The image of the school might be good or bad depending on the level of quality and effectiveness. According to Mohan (2007), how prominent a school positions itself in the eyes of its clients is a true indication of a schools image. Positive school images result in an increase in the enrollment numbers while negative school images result in a decrease in enrollment numbers. In reference to Mehta and Kapoor (2010), non-st ate funded schools receive pressure from the government in the form of providing the same level of education that is being offered in private schools, safety regulations in the schools and medical services at all times that the school is in session. The non-funded private schools respond to this pressure by; making sure that their syllabus covers the same things the public schools cover in a given year, that the school buildings are safe for people to work and learn in and that there is a medical personnel on the school grounds that can handle emergency sick cases before the sick person is transported to the hospital. According to Karczewski (2000), the clients of the non-funded private schools are the parents and their children. Most of the parents are the ever growing middle class who have a good lifestyle in other sectors of their lives including homes, cars, and clothing and therefore, they demand for better education for their children hence resulting to private schools. The pa rents put pressure on the school to offer quality education to their children that will result in effectiveness in the later years. The schools respond to this pressure by taking every effort possible to do their best to offer the level of education the clients are asking for so as to keep their business running through high enrollment rates in the school. The school has to respond to the pressure from the clients so as to persuade them not to transfer their children to other schools as this will result in loss of business. In conclusion, non-funded private schools are schools that offer the same level of education as public schools the only difference is they are funded specifically by their clients and they are more or less run like businesses. The income they receive determines their expenditure. These non-funded private schools may offer other co-curricular activities that public schools may not have due to the issue of funding. These schools have to satisfy the needs and wants of their client base so as to keep their businesses afloat and keep generating profits for their owners. Notwithstanding, the idea of a business is maximize profits and minimize losses, these private schools are run the same way hence the justification for their extravagant fees which is explained in a way that the parents will agree to part with large amounts of money like attractive high salaries for top of the range teachers who will provide quality and effective education to their children. However, private schools differ from public schools when it comes to the teacher student ratio whereby a weak student is able to be given more attention they need to improve in their studies. References Armstrong, P., 1990. ‘Extending Equality: Equity and Entitlement’ in Pam Kleiber and Libby Tisdell (Eds). Proceedings of 31st Annual Adult Education Research Conference, University of Georgia, Athens, May, Vol 4, pp 1-6. Armstrong, P., 2000. Never Mind The Quality, Measure the Len gth, Issues for Lifelong Learning. New York: John Willey. Glickman, C.D., 1987. Good and/or effective schools: What do we want? Phi Delta Kappa. vol 68, pp 622-624. Hopkins, D., 1995. Towards Effective school Improvement. School Effectiveness and School Improvement. Vol. 6, 23-47. Hopkins, D., Ainscow, M. West, M., 1994. School Improvement in an era of change. London: Cassell. Karczewski, J., 2000. Education and Economy. Web. Lock G. Ph. D. 2000. Private Schools are accountable by definition. Web. Mehta, B.C. Kapoor, K., 2010. Implementing Right to Education Act. Web. Mohan, R., 2007. School Effectiveness: School Image. Web. Mortimore. P. 1991., School effectiveness research: Which way at the crossroads? School effectiveness and school improvement, vol. 2. 213-229. Murphy. J. 1992., school effectiveness and school restructuring: Contributions to educational improvement. School Effectiveness and School Improvement. Vol 3. 90-110. Owen, J., 1999., A college guide to Benchmarking. Lon don: FEDA. Powell, B.,1991., Measuring Performance in the Education of Adults. London: UDACE. Reniham, F.I. Reniham, P.J., 1988. Institutional Image: The concept and implications for administrative action. NASSP Bulletin, 73(515), 81-90. The Province of Manitoba, 2010. Schools in Manitoba: Non-Funded Independent Schools . Web. This research paper on Quality Education in Non-Funded Private Schools was written and submitted by user Kamille Riley to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.