What is good teaching? Ask the 'customers'<\/p>\n
By Hendra Gunawan<\/p>\n
BANDUNG (JP): In our country, schools and universities are
\noften viewed as factories or industries that produce graduates.
\nWith this concept, however, many problems arise, especially
\nregarding the quality of the \"products\". To produce good products
\nthat meet certain criteria, we need good \"raw materials\" and
\n\"machinery\".<\/p>\n
Thus, for schools and universities, it would be considerably
\ndifficult to produce graduates that meet certain criteria with a
\nrate of success as high as say, 90 percent, where 10 percent are
\nconsidered \"defects\", unless all the students and the teachers
\nmeet certain criteria too. The reason is that we are dealing here
\nwith human beings.<\/p>\n
According to Lynton Gray, in his foreword to a 1992 book on
\nTotal Quality Management, \"Human beings are notoriously
\nnonstandard, and they bring into educational situations a range
\nof experiences, emotions and opinions which cannot be kept in the
\nbackground of the operation. Judging quality is very different
\nfrom inspecting the output of a factory, or judging the service
\nprovided by a retail outlet.\" In short, human beings cannot be
\ntreated as \"things\".<\/p>\n
Using business terminology, educational institutions are
\nbetter viewed as industries that offer services rather than those
\nproducing graduates. Teaching is certainly the main service.
\nOther services include supervision, counseling and facilities
\nsuch as libraries, laboratories and sports centers.<\/p>\n
The quality of a school or university is then judged by the
\nquality of these services. Students, and their parents, viewed as
\ncustomers, have the right to choose which school they want to go
\nto. Enrolling in a school or university means they \"buy\" the
\nservices offered by the institution.<\/p>\n
But what is meant by \"good quality\"? Particularly, what is
\ngood teaching? These are not easy questions. Before we can
\nanswer, we need to ask: who determines the criteria? Is it the
\ninstitution, the teachers, the students (and their parents) or
\nothers (such as employers)?<\/p>\n
To answer the latter question, we need to fully understand
\nwhat is meant by \"quality\". In its absolute sense, it is
\nperceived as something ideal, as we often hear in a daily
\nconversation. A car like a Rolls Royce, for instance, is a
\nquality car, as most people would agree.<\/p>\n
But something ideal is usually costly, hard to achieve and can
\nonly be approached. Thus, people define quality in relative
\nterms. Something simple and inexpensive may be of good quality as
\nlong as it satisfies certain criteria. The problem is: who
\ndetermines the criteria? The producers or the customers?<\/p>\n
With total quality management, the criteria are determined by
\nthe customers, for without customers no single industry can
\nsurvive. Besides, producers must realize that it is the customers
\nwho finally decide which products are of good quality and which
\nare not.<\/p>\n
By viewing schools and universities as service industries
\nwhose main service is teaching, students, parents and employers
\nare the main, secondary and tertiary external customers,
\nrespectively. Meanwhile, all staff -- the principal, teachers,
\nand administrators -- are the producers and, at the same time,
\ninternal customers, since the service may also be enjoyed by each
\nother.<\/p>\n
Thus, to define what good teaching is, it is very important to
\nask the students -- the main customers. Of course, parents,
\nemployers and all the staff should also be heard. This can be
\ndone, for instance, through questionnaires or interviews.<\/p>\n
By doing so, a list of criteria for good teaching may be
\nobtained. Moses (1985), for example, found from student
\nquestionnaires that good teaching can result from teachers'
\ncompetence in the subject matter, communication skills,
\ncommitment to facilitating student learning and concern for
\nindividual students.<\/p>\n
Of course, this list can be extended to give a better
\ndescription of good teaching. But the main point here is that we
\nshould ask the students, as well as the other \"stake holders\", to
\ndefine what good teaching is.<\/p>\n
Hearing their complaints about current practices of teaching
\nwould also be useful. In other words, schools or universities,
\nand the Ministry of Education should find out what is lacking now
\nand then try to overcome the problem. Otherwise, don't ask why
\nmany parents send their children to study abroad and why
\nemployers seek graduates from overseas universities.<\/p>\n
The writer is a lecturer at the Department of Mathematics at the
\nBandung Institute of Technology.<\/p>",
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