White Book Quality Development and Quality Assurance

The growing significance of high-quality education in our knowledge-based society is an undisputed fact. More than ever, the conditions governing education and training are characterised by fast-paced change and increasing complexity. Steering a highly dynamic system such as education is a new challenge for educational policymakers, the school administration and teacher training alike.

In line with international developments, Austria, too, is experiencing a shift of priorities from central input control to process and, in particular, output control. As a logical consequence, the self-concept at the steering levels is undergoing fundamental change as well. Ready-made concepts that prescribe every detail give way to a new governance philosophy that focuses on framework requirements, agreements on objectives, participation and transparency.

The present white book captures this trend and was drafted in a cooperative effort by renowned researchers and school administration experts. In a process of several years, issues and findings on quality development and quality assurance were raised and debated in numerous think tank sessions. A comprehensive publication by the Austrian Federal Ministry of Education on quality development and quality assessment in the Austrian system of education Qualitätsentwicklung und Qualitätssicherung im österreichischen Schulwesen (Band 17 der Reihe BILDUNGSFORSCHUNG des BMBWK) was the immediate result, and the basis for this white book. This white book ventures on new ground, both in its substance as well as in terms of the process of public opinion formation. It is designed to provide condensed information on the current state of reflection in the field of quality development and quality assurance in the Austrian system of education and to stimulate as wide as possible a debate on how to ensure continuity whilst advancing modernisation in this field.

White Book Quality Development and Quality Assurance (pdf, 291 KB)

Geändert am 26.02.2007