In Quality Time, a report on public television in the United States of America, the evaluators argue that the public television industry has made the biggest contribution to ensuring that educational broadcasting is seen to be a national resource. A large portion of this report is devoted to discussion of the impact that new information and communication technologies will have on public broadcasting. This evolves into a polemic on the implications of this on educational broadcasting, which is intensified by the ongoing struggle between commercial and public broadcasting in the United States. Despite differences that emerge is this exploration, a clear message emerging is that the future of public (and educational) broadcasting is inextricably linked to quality assurance:

Quality and excellence have always been the watchwords of national programming, and they must remain so or the system will perish.(Twentieth Century Fund Task Force. 1993)

Concern with quality in educational broadcasting is not new. The history of crises of confidence in school broadcasting service provision, as described in chapter two, reflects, at least in part, industry concern with what is being done and the quality of the educational intervention. Approaching this as a quality assurance problem is, however, a shift away from traditional approaches to ensuring quality, as it introduces awareness that high quality educational broadcasting is only possible by focusing on the entire system responsible for creating and delivering that broadcasting.

Various approaches have been used around the world to ensure the quality of educational provision of different kinds, including support services such as educational broadcasting.

Market forces – both in terms of production and consumption of broadcasting resources – might be used to improve the quality of a school educational broadcasting service. Two forces are at work here; attraction to educational broadcasting relative to other educational resources and attraction to educational broadcasting relative to other forms of broadcasting. Relying on these forces to ensure quality is, at least currently, neither sustainable nor rigorous. The first assumes that teachers and students will make informed educational decisions about using audio and video resources produced by the SABC. The extent to which this can be assumed is, however, highly debatable, particularly as target audiences have had so little exposure to good education in South Africa that their ability to make discerning choices has been severely curtailed. The second force is also problematic, because the types of broadcasting that tend to draw the largest audiences generally have negligible educational value. The law of the market approach is thus currently wholly insufficient to ensure credibility and quality.

Codes of ethics in broadcasting, while useful, are not in themselves sufficient to ensure quality. Although various international broadcasters, such as the ITC, have generated codes of ethics for elements of broadcasting, such as advertising to children. In general, these codes are vague and open to some debate given the cross-cultural differences within contexts such as South Africa. They also tend to make little reference to the educational value of broadcasting.

Legislation of educational broadcasting is another approach to ensuring quality of educational broadcasting. Legislative-based quality assurance does have the advantage of authoritatively changing undesirable educational practices. The disadvantage of legislative-based quality assurance is that legislation often focuses on minimum threshold indicators of quality, hence this may encourage the legislation of mediocrity. A second disadvantage is that changes in legislation are slow, and often cannot keep apace with rapid changes in pedagogical attitudes and approaches to quality appraisal. A third disadvantage is that this is a top-down approach and does not encourage ownership of quality assurance strategies within a sector.

There are, however, important roles for legislation with respect to educational broadcasting. These would include many of the functions currently ascribed to the IBA, which has the power to require broadcasters to develop educational broadcasting functions as part of their licence requirements. These are important steps to develop educational broadcasting, but do not provide any guarantees of quality.

Internationally, the concepts of the protection of the rights of customers (and employers) and customer satisfaction, has informed the thinking behind many quality standards. A more recent and significant contribution was thinking about quality in terms of a quality service that involves an entire organization. This is known as total quality management. Internationally, the private sector has been at the forefront of the total quality management and quality standards wave.

As is indicated in the distance education quality standards document:

These quality standards are designed for industry. They need to be adapted for education because educational criteria for quality differ from those in industry. In industry, the concern is that products and services should be up to standard, but in education quality means ‘better than average’. Similarly, in the service sector, quality might be regarded as ‘fitness for purpose’ and defined in terms of the users’ purpose and experience of service, but in education there is a need for academic standards as well. However, industrial standards can be used as a starting point for a more comprehensive approach to quality.(Department of Education. Op cit)

A further important characteristic from contemporary industrial quality standards is the emphasis placed on developing self-improving systems. This implies that, instead of relying on external quality control, the organization strategically reorients itself towards continuous systemic improvement and development.

The term ‘quality assurance’ (QA) is sometimes used rather loosely, and it might be as well to offer a working definition in relation to similar terms in the current ‘quality debate’.

The first distinction to be made is between ‘quality control’ and ‘quality assurance’. Quality control is a retrospective process - checking after the work has been done to see if it has been up to standard. Quality assurance, on the other hand, is meant to anticipate problems that might occur, so that the quality controllers end up with very little to reject. As is pointed out in the section on quality assurance in Teacher Education Offered at a Distance in South Africa(SAIDE. 1995), the dominant mode in South African education is quality control - judgement after the completion of the process - final examinations at the end of a year of study being a prime example of this.

The next distinction to be made is between quality assurance and Total Quality Managment (TQM). Quality assurance focuses on processes and procedures set in place to ensure that things will go right rather than wrong. As Bernadette Robinson puts it, quality assurance is ‘a set of activities that an organisation undertakes to ensure that standards are specified and reached consistently for a product or service’(Robinson, B. 1994). If Total Quality Management is introduced, there will be not only Quality Assurance, but also retrospective Quality Control, and in addition, a further level of Quality Assessment, the monitoring, evaluation and audit of all the quality systems within an organization. TQM also needs to consider the staff - appointing quality staff and ensuring their commitment and continuous self-improvement.

Quality assurance focuses on processes and procedures that cannot, in themselves, ensure quality. The standards set, and the notions of quality upon which such standards are based are crucial. Especially in education, it is dangerous to reduce quality assurance to a mechanistic process, which is not nurtured and challenged by vigorous debate on the aims of education:

While attention to managing processes and procedures is essential for assuring quality in Open and Distance Learning, staff also need a clear institutional vision of what constitutes good quality learning, what conditions foster it, and how to assess it.(Robinson, B. 1995)

Although the concentration is on processes and procedures, these need to be based on a negotiated and dynamic set of values, and seen in a particular context. The processes and procedures must be conducive to quality of performance by all involved. They are not controls or judgements external to that performance. They can be viewed as the means by which the members of an institution ensure that it becomes a learning organization(Argyris, C. & Schon, D. 1978). This then prepares the organization for any externally initiated quality evaluation.

Internationally, there is growing recognition that one of the most effective ways of ensuring the continual improvement of educational provision – including support services such as educational broadcasting - is through the establishment of sustainable internal quality assurance mechanisms. Once up and running, these mechanisms can lead to effective self-improving systems within institutional structures such as SABC Education. They can also function as ongoing motivation and professional development for staff. Of course, as with all such mechanisms, there is no guarantee that their implementation will lead to self-improving systems. Nor can such internal mechanisms fulfil all evaluation functions within an institution. Ultimately, success is dependent on the integrity and commitment of the people who implement and participate in quality assurance processes and on their ability to select processes and evaluation strategies appropriate to the context of the institution in which they are working.

The nature of quality assurance processes will be strongly influenced by the contexts in which they are being implemented. For this reason, there is no generic quality assurance framework or tool that will automatically suit SABC Education. Consequently, this chapter offers a broad quality assurance strategy for SABC Education. This strategy will need to be dynamic, changing and adapting to the changing nature and context of the school-based educational broadcasting service. It will incorporate a detailed process of exploring the strengths and weaknesses of the project.

The criteria and principles that will need to underpin this strategy are contained in all of the information and ideas provided throughout this document (from the broad educational contexts and theoretical descriptions of roles for television and radio to the detailed sets of principles underpinning the school-based service and specific activities articulated for various support services). In addition, however, we also draw together a range of resources in this chapter that can be used by SABC Education to form the foundations of a quality assurance strategy. First, though, we will reflect briefly on quality assurance in South African education and training.

In South Africa, quality assurance has been particularly highlighted in relation to the higher education sector, although several other sectors are realizing the importance of introducing effective quality assurance strategies.

Thus, we begin our discussion with a review of key events and policies that might influence quality assurance strategies for a school broadcasting service in South Africa. We will focus in broad terms on the National Qualifications Framework (NQF) legislation, and the work of the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA). We offer a general description of several important policy and research processes and outputs, and the potential that exists for these to inform the development of effective quality assurance processes.

The establishment of the NQF represents the most ambitious systemic strategy to assure quality in education yet attempted in South Africa. Behind the establishment of the NQF lies an attempt to build effective access to education and training, integrate education and training opportunities, and facilitate progression through them, through the establishment of national standards and qualifications of guaranteed quality(SAQA, 1996). SAQA was set up to coordinate and monitor the implementation of the NQF. A critical function of SAQA is to create standards for guiding quality assurance processes in education and training. As part of its efforts to carry out this function, SAQA is currently establishing two key types of structure. The first is the National Standards Body (NSB), one of which is being established for each identified fields of learning in the education and training sectors. NSBs are responsible for setting up Standards Generating Bodies (SGBs), which are responsible for continuous development of standards and qualifications in each of the identified learning areas. The second key type of structure is the Education and Training Quality Assurance Body (ETQA). Although there is not yet final agreement on the roles and responsibilities of ETQAs, it has been agreed that they will:

•    Promote quality among constituent providers (i.e. The registered constituency of the ETQA);
•    Accredit providers in terms of quality management;
•    Facilitate or ensure moderation across constituent providers;
•    Co-operate with relevant NSBs for the purpose of moderation across ETQAs;
•    Register constituent assessors;
•    Evaluate assessment;
•    Certificate learners;
•    Maintain an acceptable database;
•    Submit reports to SAQA;
•    Recommend unit standards to SGBs and qualifications to NSBs as appropriate;
•    Monitor provision; and
•    Undertake quality systems audits.(SAQA, 1996)

Several aspects of the work being conducted under the auspices of SAQA, which represent a drive towards implementation of the NQF and monitoring of the quality of education and training provision in South Africa, are therefore of direct relevance to a school-based educational broadcasting service.

For much of the 1990s, education policy makers have concerned themselves with conceptualizing and planning the generic models of a just and equitable education and training system that will be relevant, of high quality, and is accessible to all learners. Key to this is the transformation of existing curricula and, in some areas, wholesale implementation of new curricula that will reflect the changed needs and priorities. Implementation of outcomes-based education and a lifelong learning development framework provides an epistemological base and organizing structure for curriculum development initiatives at all levels. SAQA, and its related structures, have been given overall responsibility for assuring quality in the implementation of this new curriculum.

Given that teachers are one of the target groups of a school-based educational broadcasting service, it is critical to reflect briefly on some recent developments in the drive towards quality teacher education. Following directly from calls made in the White Paper on Education and Training, a National Teacher Audit was undertaken to provide both national ministry and various provincial ministries with a comprehensive overview and analysis of the current state of teacher education systems. The findings of the National Audit provided a damning indictment of teacher education, arguing that making minor changes to that system would not bring it in line with the values and principles outlined in the White Paper on Education and Training. Consequently, the audit recommended radical transformation of the entire system.

The issue of quality was highlighted by the fact that, despite highly questionable teaching, learning and organizational processes, pass rates among graduates of many teacher education institutions were very high. Consequently, the Committee on Teacher Education Policy (COTEP), an advisory stakeholder body established by the government to develop a national policy on teacher education, stated that its ‘first task was to improve the quality of teacher education’. The process of developing policies and guidelines for transformation of the system is underway. This is leading to amongst others: restructuring of teacher, supply, utilisation, and development systems; development of new appraisal systems for teachers; institutionalization of in-service education and training; and establishment of minimum threshold indicators for determining the quality of teacher education provision(Department of Education. Op cit).

Adult Basic Education and Training (ABET) provision is only cursorily mentioned for the purposes of this discussion, but it is important because adult learners constitute the single largest group of learners for whom efficient educational provision must be made available. Proposed standards for ABET are contained in A National Adult Basic Education and Training Framework: Interim Guidelines. Similarly, movements towards achieving quality Further Education and Training (FET) provision are underway and various policies and activities are being undertaken to transform existing provision, which has been described as ‘inadequate, dysfunctional and divisive’(Department of Education. Op cit). Of critical importance is the task of ensuring effective and meaningful implementation of lifelong learning and integration within the sector.(Department of Education. Op cit)

Of relevance in these areas is the integrated human resource development strategy outlined by the Department of Labour, in consultation with the National Training Board. This strategy foresees the integration of human resource development (HRD) activities in line with economic development and education transformation objectives. This strategy is committed to human resource development that:

•    Is flexible and decentralised, but with adequate levels of co-ordination and support for effective localised decision-making and a more strategic approach to training;
•    Is demand-led, with particular emphasis on the need to develop new enterprise demand for skills in support of rising productivity and competitiveness, and on target group training which is linked to work experience; and
•    Is based on partnership control over the new education and training system and shared costs arrangements.(Department of Education. Op cit)

Clearly, it is important to develop rigorous quality assurance processes within SABC Education in order to ensure success and sustainability of the school broadcasting service. Many of these will build on existing processes within SABC Education, seeking to consolidate their implementation and maximize their impact. Indeed, quality assurance depends for its success on the integration of reflections on quality and strategies to improve quality into all activities of the systems that lead to the implementation of a school-based service.

Below, we provide a broad framework that can effectively be used to introduce quality assurance into all aspects of the provision of a school-based educational broadcasting service. Before doing this, however, it worth introducing the diagram presented in chapter seven, which illustrates the relationship between these different aspects.

Click here to see graph

The basic argument presented in this diagram is that the nature of support strategies for a school service is determined by the broadcasting service designed, and is intended primarily to support this broadcast service. In turn, the nature of institutional support structures and processes is determined by these broadcast and support services, and these structures and processes should be designed to support them. Thus, effective quality assurance requires separate consideration of each element of the system, as well as overall consideration of the relationships between the different elements.

The tool provided below may appear pedantic in its rigorous focus on each element of the above system. As has been pointed out, however, quality assurance should not be regarded as something separate from the day-to-day functions of the system, and hence many of the activities identified below would be integrated into this everyday work. We also do not believe that the simplistic chronological occurrence of activities would be reflected in practice. Thus, various phases of the quality assurance process will inevitably take place simultaneously, while same activities will cover more than one phase of the process.

However, it is also necessary to stress that rigour of approach is essential to the successful implementation of quality assurance strategies, and is ultimately the only way to ensure continuous improvement in activities. The intention of this tool is to provide people responsible for implementing quality assurance strategies with a set of guidelines about the range of actions required in quality assurance processes and the institutional elements that need to be considered in such processes. It also includes a template for a set of worksheets, which, when completed in detail, can ensure that quality assurance is properly planned.

First, we represent graphically the steps of a quality assurance strategy, indicating that they form part of a cycle of quality assurance in which the last step of the process returns the users to the first step. This is intended to ensure the ongoing sustainability of quality assurance strategies once implemented for the first time, an approach that is particularly important when one considers implementing quality assurance strategies is much easier the second time than it is the first.

Following this is a table representing, in grid format, the worksheets that will need to be completed to plan the quality assurance strategy thoroughly. The rows (horizontal) in the table represent the different phases of the quality assurance strategy, while the columns indicate the institutional/programme elements that need to be considered during each phase. The heading for each row also indicates during which phase each set of worksheets should be completed. At the intersection of each is a number representing the number of the worksheet to be completed. Thus, for example, worksheet 18 is the worksheet to be filled in when planning the process of Making Judgements about the Support Strategies, which would include: building physical access; resource development building professional development networks; consultation; promotion; research; and dispatch.

The table is followed by a template of a worksheet, each of which would be concerned with a specific element of the quality assurance strategy. Each worksheet consists of a table with three columns, containing the three elements required in effective planning; activities, deadlines and time-frames, and responsibilities. The top row in each table indicates the number of the worksheet, the phase of the quality assurance strategy (capital letters), and the institutional/programme element under consideration. Completing these thoroughly, and drawing from the full range of possible activities, can ensure that any quality assurance strategy is well planned.

A short introduction to each phase of the quality assurance process is useful prior to moving on to the tool itself:

1. Defining Purpose
The intention of this phase of the quality assurance process is to come to a common understanding, element by element, of the purpose of implementing a quality assurance strategy in a particular institution or programme(Frazer, M.,1992). This is not simply a technical exercise; it needs to be designed in such a way that it enables staff (probably only at middle and senior management level at this stage) to come to terms with the very notion of quality assurance and to accept it as a process essential to improving quality. This commitment will be vital as the process continues.

PLANNING WORKSHEETS COMPLETED: Before the process begins (if running for the first time) or during the monitoring action phase (any time after the first).

2. Planning
The point of this phase is to develop plans for phases 3, 4, and 5 of the quality assurance strategy. Crucially, this planning process should not be regarded as separate from organizational planning. We have indicated that quality assurance is not a separate activity or unit that run alongside other activities. Rather, it is interwoven with all aspects of the organization’s operations. Consequently, planning for quality assurance is no different from general planning.

Consequently, this is not simply a set of technical activities, particularly if one is running the process for the first time. It is crucial to the success of the organization. It is also the point at which all staff members need to be introduced to the concept of quality assurance and convinced of its importance. Finally, the planning phase is the time at which criteria for assessing quality can be developed within the organization. We have provided examples at the end of this chapter that might be quality assurance criteria for different elements of the school-based service. However, the process of developing and agreeing on these criteria is ongoing.

PLANNING WORKSHEETS COMPLETED: Before the process begins (if running for the first time) or during the monitoring action phase (any time after the first).

3. Gathering Information
This is the phase during which all necessary information is gathered, mostly through various forms of primary research. In order to run smoothly and to ensure maximum benefit, this phase should involve all staff in some way or another. It should also incorporate professional development activities designed to introduce staff to new ideas in the field in which they work. This is essential to allow them to assess their work from a new perspective and thus to gain new insights into its strengths and weaknesses. This is also the phase during which student responses external evaluations and input from students are most likely to be sought (although they need not be obtained exclusively during this phase).

PLANNING WORKSHEETS COMPLETED: During planning phase.

4. Making Judgements
During this phase, identified staff members will be expected to consider the various types of information gathered (for example, collated student questionnaires, internally and externally conducted evaluations, and relevant statistical information) in order to make judgements about the effectiveness of the particular institutional/programme element under consideration. The judgements made will then be captured during the reporting phase.

PLANNING WORKSHEETS COMPLETED: During planning phase.

5. Reporting
Having made judgements, the staff members responsible will be expected to compile brief reports detailing the strengths and weaknesses of different aspects of a particular institutional/programme element. Importantly, these reports should identify what action needs to be taken to build on the strengths and eliminate the weaknesses detailed in the report. Staff should not do this in isolation; the process of identifying appropriate action to be taken should include all staff at appropriate moments. The report should also indicate how that action will be monitored.

PLANNING WORKSHEETS COMPLETED: During planning phase.

6. Taking Action
At this phase of the process, appropriate action is taken to build on the strengths and eliminate the weaknesses on the institution or programme. Of course, in certain cases, staff will start to take action as soon as they have identified certain weaknesses or gaps in their work. Thus, the neat chronological order of phases suggested here will be blurred (as it will during phases 1 and 2 and during phases 3, 4, and 5). This is not a problem as long as the progress of each phase is carefully monitored by people assigned to oversee the quality assurance process.

PLANNING WORKSHEETS COMPLETED: During reporting phase.

7. Monitoring Action
The point of this phase is to monitor how effective the actions suggested during the reporting phase and subsequently undertaken have been in building on the strengths of and eliminating the weaknesses of the institution/programme. Thus, it functions as a form of summative evaluation of the entire quality assurance process, and is another clear moment at which external evaluation and student input can be valuable. Although, the monitoring process functions as a summative evaluation of the quality assurance process, it should not be seen as a retrospective process. Rather, it can lead to immediate changes in the actions being taken and, more importantly, to re-thinking the quality assurance strategy before the cycle begins again. For this reason, the monitoring action phase is the point at which the planning worksheets for the ‘Defining Purpose’ and ‘Planning’ phases of a new quality assurance strategy will be completed, allowing the process to begin again.

PLANNING WORKSHEETS COMPLETED: During reporting phase.

The success of the above strategy depends on developing a relevant and comprehensive, yet clear and simple, set of criteria for measuring quality. This needs to be detailed enough to be useful, but flexible enough to accommodate new ideas and emerging experiences. In the table provided above, we have articulated the key elements of a quality assurance strategy. Below, we provide some further ideas on quality criteria that can be used in some of these areas. These ideas might form the foundation of a more comprehensive set of quality assurance criteria developed by the SABC. The parenthesis inserts indicate which institutional element is addressed by the different criteria

The organization has a clear sense of purpose and direction, which is informed by national priorities, as well as by the quality demands of cost-effective educational provision.(Department of Education. Op cit)

This broad criterion provides a generic standard against which SABC Education can be used to assess and improve its work in relation to contextual processes and factors. The following elements for this criterion are also relevant, and where appropriate have been enhanced:

•    The mission statement of the organization sets out clearly and unambiguously the goals of the organization, the principles according to which is operates, and areas of legitimate operation.
•    Policy statements and strategic plans arising from the mission statement are appropriate for the national and local context and responsive to changing contexts.
•    Slogans and mottoes reflect the institutional objectives and do not contradict policy and mission statements.
•    There are policy statements on

– Broadcasting strategies;
– Support services;
– Responsibilities of users of the service;
– Language;
– Human resource strategies;
– Management and administration;
– Finances;
– Quality assurance and review;
– Evaluation and research;
– Marketing; and
– Partnerships and collaboration with other organizations.

•    There is a published statement of the organization’s commitment to its users.
•    Implementation/operational/ action plans are realistic and designed to enable targets to be met. Policy statements and methods of implementing them are recorded, readily available, and fully understood by members of staff.
•    There are monitoring procedures to ensure that all policies are implemented, evaluated, and amended as and when necessary.
•    Equal opportunities are ensured for all users, partners and staff members.

A major output of SABC Education will be the design and production of educational broadcast and other resources, for use by teachers and students. With regard to both types of resources, the following criteria, along with several others, are relevant. The usefulness of these criteria is that they have multiple and flexible application and use. For example, teachers wishing to investigate use of SABC Education foundation phase broadcasts could use these criteria (with some rephrasing for user-friendliness) to ascertain whether or not resources will meet their specific needs.

A broad criterion for developing mixed media packages might state:

Mixed media packages are designed with national needs as well as the needs of prospective learners and employers in mind; their form and structure encourage access and are responsive to learner needs; and learning methods are appropriate to the aims and purposes of the package.

Some elements to this criterion include:
•    The mixed media package is developed in terms of a needs analysis based on an audit of existing courses and programmes, market research, liaison (where appropriate) with educational stakeholders, national and provincial priorities, and the needs of the users.
•    The outcomes and content of the package are appropriate for the level and purpose.
•    The various components of the package are integrated.
•    Wherever possible, components are used in more than one package.
•    Validation and approval procedures encourage innovation and flexibility.
•    For each mixed media package, there is a publicly accessible description of aims and learning outcomes, target group, style of learning and teaching, and features of the learning environment and resources.
•    The choice of media and type of technology is integrated into the package design, and is justified in the light of the aims of the package, required learning outcomes, and user needs and contexts.
•    A range of instructional methods is employed to help users achieve the learning or teaching outcomes, catering for different learning styles and contexts, and encouraging self-directed learning.
•    The organisation gives instructional designers or producers, consultants, and others involved in the design and development process the necessary guidance and training regarding aspects of educational broadcasting in order to assure quality in their work.

With regard to specific resources, the following criterion is relevant:

Resources have appropriate objectives and outcomes, content, approaches to learning and teaching, and are accessibly presented. There is an identified process of development and review of resources.(Department of Education. Op cit)

Relevant elements of this criterion are:
•    If existing resources used, their suitability is evaluated in terms of required learning outcomes and appropriateness to target learners.
•    If existing resources are used, there is proper acknowledgement of the source of all material and no breach of local or international copyright laws.
•    The development of resources is based on a project plan, which describes, for example, routines, finances and other resources, the delegation of responsibility among those involved, and an adequate time schedule for the work.
•    The resource development plan includes provision for (formative) evaluation during the developmental process in the form of critical commenting, developmental testing, or piloting.
•    There are mechanisms to allow for the periodic revision of the resource in the light of feedback from users, both teachers and students and advances in knowledge and research.
•    There are clearly laid out learning objectives and content.
•    The content of the resource is sufficient, sequenced, relevant, accurate, relevant to core skills and outcomes, and free of discrimination.
•    The learning and teaching approaches are appropriate, practical, varied, learner-centred, promote learner responsibility, and cater for individual needs.
•    The resources are designed in an accessible way, and the use of language is appropriate for the users.

The University of Birmingham and the British Educational Communications and Technology Agency are in the process of developing a tool that can be used by both developers and users, for evaluating web sites(Tweddle, S; Avis, P.; Wright, J. and Waller, T. 1998). The researchers point out that the tool is still a work in progress but it is an attempt to develop evaluation criteria on web sites used for educational purposes. The tool consists of a number of key elements, and related questions:
•    Purpose (Articulation of the purpose of the site will inform its realization and enable users to establish its relevance and appropriateness);
•    Authority (Pages should be authoritative and the process by which they are developed appropriate and explicit);
•    Content (The pages or discussion should remain current and worth visiting regularly);
•    Design (The site should have a tone that is appropriate to the purpose, audience and subject matter and should be used to enhance communication, while the design should allow users to find and read the information they want and to navigate easily);
•    Readability (The language and organization of the text on the site should be appropriate for the target audience and purpose with words, sounds, and images combined in a way that best conveys meaning, sustains interest, and aids the anticipated mode for reading information);
•    Implementation (The site should be easy to use and implemented in such a way that it is appropriate for users with varying technological capacity in terms of skills and hardware/ software); and
•    Evaluation (The adaptive nature of the medium should be exploited: monitoring and evaluation of usage should inform the ongoing development of the site). (Tweddle, S; Avis, P.; Wright, J. and Waller, T. 1998)

In terms of designing and implementing a SABC Education web site, the above elements are important for supporting internal quality assurance strategies.

There is effective and democratic management of communication and information as well as human and material resources; efficient administrative systems support the activities of the organization; the organization is financially sound and can make reliable educational provision.(Department of Education. Op cit)

Of relevance are the following elements for ensuring quality in SABC Education management and administration systems:
•    There are clear lines of accountability within the organization, between the organization and the Executive of the SABC, and between the SABC Executive and the community.
•    There are effective systems for communication with current users, with key outside bodies, with potential users.
•    The appropriate mechanisms prevent staff from using their position of power within the organization to generate extra revenue for personal benefit or double payment for the same work.
•    User enquiries, applications, and complaints are dealt with quickly and clearly.
•    The production and delivery of resources is fast, accurate, and reliable.
•    Users’ questions are answered quickly (within one to five days), clearly, and supportively.
•    Equipment and facilities are well managed and maintained.
•    Staff members are trained in the use of the equipment, facilities, and communication and information systems.
•    Financial procedures (for example, handling of orders, accounts, receipt of external funds, and part-time and full-time salaries) are known and adhered to.
•    There are budgeting procedures in place to deal with the allocation of resources and monitoring of expenditure.
•    The budgeting procedures are flexible enough to promote and enable constructive experimentation in design and delivery methods.
•    Clear decision-making structures exist for seeking and receiving funds and the allocation and control of resources.
•    There is a system for reviewing the quality procedures used and ensuring that all changes are effectively communicated.

In the interests of cost-effective provision of educational broadcasting, collaborative relationships are formed and collaborative projects are undertaken wherever possible.(Department of Education. Op cit)

Relevant elements of this criterion include:
•    Wherever possible, arrangements are made between organizations for:

– sharing developed resources;
– jointly developing new resources;
– sharing facilities such as national video libraries and teacher centres;
– sharing regional centres and teacher education institutions for distribution of video resources; and
– collaborating in the delivery of programmes.

•    The membership of relevant associations and forums is encouraged.

A quality system ensures that clients’, learners’ and staff needs are met.(Department of Education. Op cit)

In relation to SABC Education activities, this would require that the outputs and activities of the organization meet the needs of its users (here teachers and students), its staff members, and its partners. The following elements of the above criterion would include:
•    The management ensures that, in its day-to-day work, the organization’s activities meet the quality standards set nationally as well as the organization’s own policy for the different elements.
•    There is an organizational culture that encourages efforts to improve the quality of the educational broadcasting.
•    There is a clear cycle of planning, development, documentation, reporting, action, and review of policy and procedures within the organization.
•    Staff development is seen as fundamental to quality service provision.
•    There are clear routines and systems for quality assurance and staff members are familiar with those that relate to their work.
•    Staff, users, and other educational stakeholders are involved in quality review.
•    Internal quality assurance processes are articulated with external processes.

The above standards are intended only to be illustrative of the types of criteria that need to be established for each of the different institutional elements that make the school-based educational broadcasting service. We recommend, therefore, that a more detailed internal planning process, which might include external participation, be conducted to develop a more comprehensive set of criteria. Within the institutional element of support strategies, we suggest that separate sets of criteria be developed for each strategy, namely: building physical access; resource development building professional development networks; consultation; promotion; research; and dispatch. These criteria will then provide a solid platform for implementing a comprehensive quality assurance strategy.