NFER conducted an independent evaluation of the Inspect and Improve (I&I) pilot project in Eastern Uganda. I&I is a school inspections and improvement programme implemented by Promoting Equality in African Schools (PEAS) in partnership with Uganda's Directorate of Education Standards (DES), under the Ministry of Education and Sports…

This chapter introduces the idea of school inspectors as implementers of public policy, framing their role within the context of policy implementation and the governance of education. Using a framework for policy implementation developed by Weible and Sabatier (Handbook of public policy analysis. Taylor and Francis, London, pp. 123-136, 2006), it…

In this article, we analyse the implementation and change of a specific school reform in Germany using the example of external school evaluation in Lower Saxony: the school inspection. We investigate how and why a newly implemented reform is itself subject to reform shortly afterwards. We begin with a historical background of German school reforms…

In many of Germany's states the procedures for school inspections were amended following completion of a first evaluation cycle. This chapter examines the way changes carried out in the course of reform were configured with respect to content and process. It is based on the assumption that school inspections represent an institution whose…

The relationship between headteachers and inspection is complex, particularly when in service head teachers are employed as inspectors. This study takes the English case of inspection to examine how headteachers interpret their work and agency as inspectors. Employing ideas on 'boundary crossing' it is informed by, and contributes to, the…

During recent decades many school systems in Europe have undergone extensive changes in their governance structures. The guiding image of this 'modernisation' was an idea of evidence-based governance of schooling: 'New school inspections' have been a recurrent feature of such modernised governance systems in most countries. In this chapter the…

The further education (FE) sector in the UK, or post-compulsory education as it is often referred to, has undergone some radical changes in recent years. Historically, FE is synonymous with vocational education and training, providing communities with courses that tended to be in practical, non-academic subjects. Many FE lecturers came from…

This paper investigates quality assurance in Chinese higher education by looking at the Evaluation of the University Baccalaureate Programmes Project (EUBPP) conducted in China. It analyses factors that bring about tensions between policy and practice in this area through a study of two contrasting tertiary institutions. The results show that the…

This paper reviews school inspection systems in small states and territories (SSTs), indicating tensions, challenges and sensitivities that relate to their small size. A qualitative case study is presented of the new school inspection system in Macau, a post-colonial, small territory facing issues experienced in other SSTs. Macau's inspection…

The Office for Standards in Education in Great Britain conducts inspections of provisions for students with special educational needs in primary and secondary regular and special schools. Implementation of these inspections requires development of well-trained inspectors with special education expertise and recognition of local education authority…

This bulletin provides descriptions of two of the most widely used business and industry quality models--the British Standards Institution system (BS5750) and Total Quality Management (TQM). The focus is on applications of the models in further education colleges. The first section clarifies what the term "quality" means, in general and…