Standards - a couple of steps back - Mark Potterton

Throughout the world, there is an obsession with 'educational standards', and a great deal of effort goes into the development of standards in the belief that these improve the quality of education. This paper briefly examines some of the literature that reflects on what the standards are, and what their limitations might be in poor countries, particularly exploring the arguments that standards do little to change the complex processes of teaching and learning, particularly in contexts of poverty and deprivation. The paper then reflects on school evaluations in South Africa, in the light of these theoretical arguments. The author concludes that, besides the obvious need for basic inputs in schools in developing countries, there is a need for teachers to engage students, develop their imaginations and inspire them to do great things.
From: Southern African Review of Education, Vol. 13 no. 1 (2007)