Kvalitetssikringsbegrebets idéhistorie - og folkeskolens demokratiske dannelse

Following international trends of education, the Danish public school system has been reformed quite profoundly the last 10-12 years. In an age of economic crisis, quality assurance (QA) seems to address relevant concerns of costs and effectiveness by introducing concepts of evidence and quantified data, as well as personal and institutional accountability. So, the Danish ’folkeskole’ (public school) has moved from a general, democratic and teacher-driven education, towards a national, centralized planning and evaluation system. Therefore, the concept of QA is placed in the very core of Danish education.

However, research seem to indicate a slightly decreasing effect on quality. Furthermore, QA being linked to the governmental reform programs of New Public Management, criticism has been raised of democratic deficit. Being a public school with strong democratic ideals and traditions, the Danish ’folkeskole’ finds itself in a new situation. What is e.g. the framework of democratic education in a pedagogy of accountability?

So: In this project I examine the concept of QA. Not as an evaluation tool to be calibrated, but in a broader historical and philosophical perspective. In a theoretical framework inspired mainly by the Germain conceptual historian, Reinhart Koselleck, I explore the emergence of QA as an idea: Where did it come from? How can it be caracterized? How was it installed in the educational system? With what arguments?

I explore the emergence of QA in three historical periods:

In Part One I examine how QA emerges in the industrial field of production and trade. Starting in the 1930s, Danish industry establishes standards of quality and organizations to handle them. Eventually the Danish organizations establishes strong partnerships and cooperation with international organisations of standardized quality, among other things in order to facilitate trading and production. Internationally these organisations are older and more established. In this period, QA is caracterized by industrial engineering, statistics and management and so I conclude by conceptualizing an ‘engineeering complex’ of elements connected to the practice of QA.

In Part Two I follow the litterature on QA and standards and explore the long term conditions in older, mainly American standards of quality organizations. Starting with ’Scientific Management’ as the pioneer in standardized quality, I follow some of the traditions developing from the Efficiency Movement, including public administration and educational management. Identifying some lines of development linking this tradition to contemporary international educational movements and ’knowledge economy’, I suggest new perspectives on both.

In Part Three, returning to Denmark and starting around 1990 with the emergence of New Public Management, I explore the ’transition’ of QA from production industry to public administration. I am interested in the change of context: Does the concept of QA change in this transition? And does public administration? Eventually, I follow the ’traveling idea’ of QA in to the Danish public school, asking the same questions and decribing its impact on both legal frameworks, pedagogy, school content and managerial structures.

Looking at QA in this perspective, a conceptual development emerges, that goes back more than one hundred years. Analyzing this development through time and across disciplines enables me to suggest some of the implicit assumptions and values within the concept of QA. The ambition is to shed some light on today’s educational QA.

In Part Four, I conclude and discuss the democratic implications of this historical development, outlining some philosophical and historical perspectives in order to be able to characterize aspects of the concept of QA, relating to the Danish ‘folkeskoles’ (public school’s) tradition of democratic education. Following recent litterature I compare the Danish/Scandinavian educational tradition with examples from Anglo-American curriculum studies, including the significance of religious roots and various traditions of secularization. The democratic impact on school and society of this development is discussed.