The Hidden Ideology in Objective Measurements - an Example from a Specific Tool for Quality Assurance in Schools

Abstract

There is an inherent ideological discrepancy in the idea and practice of Quality Assurance (QA) within the welfare sector. While QA sails under the objective, instrumental and apolitical flag of strictly measuring the quality of the entity to which it is applied1 , the entity itself – the specific school unit, municipality or even whole country – is expected to adapt to the parameters imposed upon it. This in turn governs the direction taken in work, activities, and discourse, which should per se be understood as highly political (Agevall, 2005, p. 21; Forsell & Ivarsson Westberg, 2014, p. 222).