QUALITY ASSURANCE IN SECONDARY EDUCATION: EVIDENCE FROM SUSTAINABLY HIGH-PERFORMING PISA SYSTEMS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR INSTRUCTIONAL QUALITY
Keywords:
In contemporary education, quality assurance (QA) is no longer merely an administrative task;Abstract
Quality assurance (QA) has emerged as a central instrument of contemporary educational governance, reflecting a global shift toward the principles of New Public Management (NPM). This study examines how sustainably high-performing systems, as evidenced by Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) data, operationalize quality through evaluation, benchmarking, and performance monitoring. Drawing on the Dynamic Model of Educational Effectiveness (DMEE) and High Reliability Organization (HRO) principles, the research investigates the relationship between governance mechanisms and instructional quality dimensions, including teacher support, disciplinary climate, and cognitive activation. Findings from diverse systems—such as Japan’s centralized standards, Finland’s trust-based autonomy, and the United States’ standards-based certification—reveal that while governance models vary, they consistently prioritize the reduction of instructional variability to enhance student achievement and equity. This paper concludes that effective QA mechanisms are critical drivers of school effectiveness, providing a framework where high-quality instruction can flourish regardless of students' socioeconomic backgrounds.
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