GLOBAL MEASUREMENT OF THE QUALITY OF EDUCTION - A HELP TO DEVELOPING-COUNTRIES

Global measures of the quality of education that are used in the conte xt of international competition between educational system innovators are detrimental to the quality of education, especially in developing countries. Such measures are likely to support developments towards th e standardization or globalization of curricula. In the development of global measures developers typically are looking for what is common t o cultures instead of what is unique. If such measures start playing a n important role in accountability and certification processes, curric ula will be adapted to the measures. The resultant global curricula ma y hamper learning and as a consequence will not contribute to a bindin g of cultures but to isolation and feelings of inferiority. Alternativ e measures are suggested which meet global standards and may be used f or comparative purposes. They can be a great help in the process of ch anges in educational systems determined and controlled by Third World countries themselves.