What is the concept of “quality of education” as defined by the Organization of Ibero-American States (OEI) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) for Latin America during the period from 1990 to 2017? What milestones can be identified regarding the OEI’s and UNESCO’s focus on the quality of education in Latin America?
These questions piqued the interest of Dr. Denise Vaillant—academic secretary of the Institute of Education at Universidad ORT Uruguayand Dr. Eduardo Rodríguez Zidán—deputy academic coordinator of the Institute of Education.
As a result, they began reviewing the literature and conducting research, and published the chapter“UNESCO and OEI Perspectives on the Quality of Education.”
According to the authors, the term “quality of education” is a “catch-all” in educational discourse. Because of its many uses and meanings, it is a concept with boundaries that are difficult to define.
However, even though educational issues are discussed almost daily, Vaillant and Rodríguez Zidán pointed out that the fundamental question at the heart of education is not always asked: “What is the purpose of education?”
“Promoting a rigorous and systematic debate on the issue is, perhaps, one of the tasks still pending for international organizations in Latin America,” they said.
The chapter“UNESCO and OEI Perspectives on the Quality of Education”was published in 2018. It can be found in the book Quality of Education in Ibero-America: Discourses, Policies, and Practices, edited by professor and researcher Héctor Monarca. The book also includes the chapter“The Quality of Education in OECD and World Bank Discourses: Uses and Disuses,”written by Dr. Jesús Manso, a visiting professor at the Institute of Education.