Quality Management in Lifelong Learning: Can a Stakeholder Approach to Involvement Make a Difference?

Abstract

Interest in the debate about quality management has grown substantially in recent years. Educators of adults want to improve their practices: they are searching for new ways of measuring success that are inclusive and which take account of views of different interest groups. This article examines the involvement of stakeholders in the management of quality. An example of a stakeholder quality framework developed in the field of adult literacy is presented and a model used for implementation of the framework is discussed. The framework and model are seen as part of an evolving process and the benefits and limitations are discussed. The approach is characterised as participatory and bottom-up: the quality framework evolves through negotiation. It provides an alternative to models where definitions of quality are handed down within organisations.