Quality in education discourse:"economy of scope" vs. "ecology of practice"

The thesis on quality as a universal phenomenon which becomes imperative of the time in the 21 century is being elaborated and the thesis "that the quality starts and ends with education" is being strongly promoted. This paper points out the persistence of the idea of quality in the historical perspective, quality as a general concept is being considered, evolution and relativity of meaning. Attention is focused on the theoretical, conceptual and practical problems of quality in education. Competing methodological and epistemological approaches were analyzed in particular because of their implications for theory and practice of education. Potential of constructive overcoming the false dilemma "economy vs. ecology" lays in the critical insight of dysfunctional polarized points of view: structural-managemental (focused on the standardization of education and organizational effectiveness) versus socio-ecological (which emphasizes ethics and human values of education). Which would allow consideration of global demands for comparability of educational outcomes in the context of local needs and specific characteristics of different educational systems when building of an authentic pedagogical approach to quality in education. Corroboration of this view is provided by a new generation of educational effectiveness research, which affirm exactly that direction.