Excellence, equity and efficiency are key drivers for improvement in Scotland's education sector, including educational psychology. This paper discusses and evaluates the decisions taken by one Scottish Educational Psychology Service towards achieving the key outcomes of excellence, equity and efficiency through a redesign of their service…

"New" school inspections are essential parts of "evidence-based governance" concepts and have been implemented by many European countries as a major strategy to assure and improve the effectiveness and quality of their education systems. However, national inspection systems vary in their composition and in their contextual…

With decentralisation becoming increasingly widespread across Europe, evaluation and accountability are becoming key issues in ensuring quality provision for all (Altrichter & Maag Merki, 2010; Eurydice, 2004). In Europe, the dominant arrangement for educational accountability is school inspections. The purpose of this research is to identify…

India and China are two fast growing economies of the world and need large skill based manpower to sustain the economic growth. The existing formal higher educational system in these countries will not be able to meet the demand of the economy. The paper will try (i) to compare the development of economy and distance education in India and China…

With most school districts all over the country scrambling to cover educational funding shortfalls and increasing class sizes, at least one state governor is publicly questioning why all school districts don't contract custodial services. School district administrators are facing the increasing budget cuts pressure to consider (or reconsider)…

The paper describes Quality Service Management (QSM) as applied to the provision of services to disabled and other special needs persons. QSM is defined as a systems approach to consumer relations based on the belief that quality care may be achieved only within the context of overall services management. Differences among "quality…

Advantages and disadvantages to various methods of assuring quality and accountability in community mental health centers are discussed. Examples are external structure review, peer monitoring, and site visitation. (LAB)

Based on effective-schools research and organizational theory, a curriculum-management audit examines school practices and policies for curriculum design and delivery and draws conclusions about curriculum quality control. District performance is measured against five standards: control, direction, connectivity and equity, feedback, and…

Suggests that many aspects of quality assurance in health care can be applied to social service agencies. Reviews what has been learned about quality assurance in health care and suggests guidelines for its implementation in social services. (Author/JAC)

This article describes the development of a provider-based outcome measurement system, describing core components and processes, what to measure, who should be involved in the development and measurement process, and what data collection technologies can be used or adopted. Problems in developing model outcome measurement services are presented.…

The objectives of the Pell Grant quality control (QC) system and the general definition of QC are considered. Attention is also directed to: the objectives of the Stage II Pell Grant QC system design and testing project, the approach used to develop the QC system, and the interface of the QC system and the Pell Grant delivery system. The…

This article describes the activities of a national group of assistive technology professionals known as the Quality Indicators for Assistive Technology Services (QIAT) Consortium. The work of the Consortium is discussed and the current set of indicators is included. Processes used in the development of the indicators are described. (Contains…

This article summarizes how an organization designed and implemented a quality improvement infrastructure and an effective outcomes-based management system. Stages included: assessing the organization's current status and planning for buy-in, initiating data collection, ensuring data integrity, utilizing data in clinical assessment and…

Quality Control (QC) regulations for the following federal entitlement programs are discussed: Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), Medicaid, Supplemental Security Income Program, and Food Stamp Program. Implications of these QC procedures and for the Department of Education's approach to QC regulations are also considered. Each set of…

The extent to which colleges are complying with the 1982-1983 Pell Grant validation requirements was assessed. Fall 1982 financial aid data were drawn from a representative sample of 3,490 Pell Grant recipients at 317 colleges that are part of the Regular Disbursement System. Key findings show: (1) the vast majority of institutions collect the…