Little research has investigated the treatment of school libraries in OFSTED (Office for Standards in Education) reports. This paper is devoted to a recent study that has examined the conclusions reached by inspectors visiting first and primary schools in a metropolitan borough in northern England. Forty-four reports relating to schools of these…

This paper analyses the take-up of proposals for a national quality assurance system in South Africa using different approaches to quality assurance to classify stakeholder responses to survey and interview questions. The context of the study was the introduction of an external quality assurance system for South African higher education by an…

Purpose: This paper seeks to discuss the characteristics that shape a model to manage eLearning in a large, predominantly campus-based university. It focuses on how such a model can provide a sustainable approach to supporting eLearning for more than 40,000 students while still managing basic quality assurance for the University executive and the…

This paper outlines the genesis, limitations, and future directions for the Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO) in the province of Ontario. Recent assessment reforms are analyzed and examined in relation to broader Canadian and international literature. Research describing the impact of Ontario's large-scale assessment programs on…

The 1999 National Education Act emphasizes the importance of quality assurance and national education standards. The main principle of educational provision of high standard lies in recognition of the importance of assessment for enhancing educational quality and raising the standard. Such recognition has led to establishment in Thailand of the…

This article started as a debate between the two authors. Both authors present a series of propositions about quality standards in education research. Cook's propositions, as might be expected, not only concern the importance of experimental trials for establishing the security of causal evidence, but also include some important practical and…

Despite the proliferation of online education, concerns remain about the quality of online programmes. Quality assurance (QA) has become a prominent issue, not only for educational institutions and accreditors, but also for students and employers alike. This paper describes some of the rather unique QA processes used at Universitas 21 Global…

A laboratory experiment that provides students a hands-on introduction to the specific techniques of liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) and electrospray ionization is presented. The students can thus practice the analytical principles of sample extraction, detection, quantification, and quality control using a fresh fish…

Within the fields of human performance technology (HPT), human resources management (HRM), and management in general, performance measurement is not only foundational but considered necessary at all phases in the process of HPT. In HPT in particular, there is substantial advice literature on what measurement is, why it is essential, and (at a…

Purpose: This study aims to present a general conceptual framework which can be used to evaluate quality and institutional performance in higher education. Design/methodology/approach: The quality of higher education is at the heart of the setting up of the European Higher Education Area. Strategic management is widely used in higher education…

Quality assurance in instructional development demands an exhaustive formative evaluation effort and applied testing. Unfortunately, this process is expensive and requires large numbers of user testers with characteristics similar to the intended audience. This article presents a procedure for increasing the efficiency of quality assurance efforts…

The present report is the product of an ENQA (European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education) Bologna Seminar "Quality Assurance in Transnational Education: from words to action" hosted by the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA, UK) in London in December, 2008. The seminar discussed the current trends in Transnational…

The University of Southern Queensland's Centre for Further Education and Training, which offers distance teaching and training courses to a wide range of mature students, developed a quality assurance framework to guide its efforts to improve the quality of its distance courses for teachers and trainers with little or no training in educational…

Editorial practices revolving around tests of statistical significance are explored. The logic of statistical significance testing is presented in an accessible manner--many people who use statistical tests might not place such a premium on them if they knew what the tests really do, and what they do not do. The etiology of decades of misuse of…

This project investigated the use of external examiners by institutions accredited by the Open University Validation Services (OUVS) in England. The investigation involved visiting 18 accredited institutions and interviewing 10 external examiners. The study found widespread approval of the contribution made by external examiners. Reasons given for…