Student Learning: 'The heart of quality' in education and training

Abstract

This paper surveys the development of various approaches to quality that are essentially learning-centred: • In the Schools sector: a brief overview of the Victorian Quality in Schools project; • In Higher Education: work in progress at two Australian universities (Victoria University of Technology and Swinburne Universities of Technology in Melbourne); and • In Vocational Education and Training: work in progress in re-orienting the policy approach to Quality towards a more flexible and learning-centred model. This paper will argue that when looked at from the perspective of the individual learner, there is a strong case for student learning to be placed at the very heart of Quality Systems in all sectors of education, and also therefore in related sectoral Quality Assurance programs and processes.