Measuring Quality Teaching: Developing a Process Focused Framework

Abstract

There is international acknowledgement that the ability of industry and nations to meet the competitive challenges of a growing global economy is often determined by the acquired industry relevant, knowledge, skills and attitudes of its workforce. A significant factor impacting on the level of success achieved by individuals can be directly related to the quality of the teaching experienced in formal Tertiary Vocational Education and Training (TVET) educational settings. The purpose of this paper is to explore, through a documented Chinese case-study of Tianjin City Vocational College, how quality teaching can be measured. The project methodology used was based on an intuitive-rational approach segmented into three (3) phases; preparation, process and reporting. The preparation phase focused on defining quality teaching and developing four research instruments to investigate quality teaching practices. The process phase involved gathering and analysing data generated from questionnaires, classroom observations and interviews. The reporting phase presented the findings of the research to relevant stakeholders. In reviewing the initial findings, it was acknowledged that the framework proposed does not match other quality evaluation methodologies in this area. This is partially because this evaluation methodology used focused on the actual teaching and learning experienced by participants. This measurement of the process at the point of delivery, rather than the outcomes at the point of completion, provides a detailed overview of the current educational climate and teaching practices of the institution being investigated. The data generated allows institutional response to improving teaching quality to be pro-active, impacting on current teaching practices, rather than reactive, focusing on past teaching practices. It was concluded that the evaluation framework created, and the associated research instruments developed, were robust and reliable. It was argued that they could be used with confidence by TVET institutions who want to pro-actively improve the teaching quality experienced by their learners.