Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore existing and desired methodologies for systematic quality work to promote quality in preschools from the principal's perspective. Design/methodology/approach: A collaborative approach was used in this research project, and principals were asked to complete portfolio assignments. Their answers to…

School inspections are fundamental to quality assurance and improvement in many countries. Yet the question of the validity of these inspections has not yet been comprehensively addressed. This paper proposes a systematic approach to assessing the validity of school inspections, based on Messick's multifaceted concept of validity. We apply each…

High-quality care in the earliest years of life has been shown to relate to positive developmental outcomes for children, including improved early academic skills, social-emotional competencies, and cognitive functioning. Unfortunately, the early care experiences of many children are not always high quality; rather, research suggests that…

Quality control in the auditing profession has developed useful practices that are applied to the research and evaluation process. By identifying and controlling sources of bias and noise in the system of inquiry, the quality of evaluative evidence can be enhanced for both present and future use. (Author/BS)

The impact of implementation of a quality system on Australia's vocational education and training (VET) classrooms was examined through case study research with more than 100 quality managers, head teachers, and teachers in 8 technical and further education (TAFE) institutes in New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, and Western…

Purpose: This paper aims to explore the quality profession's fascination with various models to depict complex interactive systems. Building on these and the outcome of a four-year action research programme, it provides a model which has potential for use by other professions. It has been tailored here to suit training and learning systems.…

This report describes the instructional quality inventory (IQI), which was developed to provide quality control/evaluation procedures for the instructional system development (ISD). The ISD is described as a method used by the military to develop or revise training courses. IQI procedures are detailed in six sections. Section 1 explains the IQI…

This document synthesizes reports on quality issues and trends in vocational education and training (VET) in Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Greece, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain. Discussed in the report's five sections are the following topics: quality concepts and their application to VET (VET in Europe, quality concepts and their application…