This paper focuses on how people working in the Swedish food production industry engage in in-service training by means of computer-mediated communication. The empirical material consists of archived chat log files from a course concerning quality assurance and food safety hazards control in the preparation and handling of foodstuff. Drawing on…

Self-evaluation is supposed to be a valid, reliable and easy-to-use instrument to commit professionals to external quality assurance. The writing of a self-evaluation report is the first step in most higher education accreditation systems all over the world. Research on accreditation in the Netherlands and Flanders shows that professionals…

This paper offers seven things one should know about open textbook publishing. These seven facts are: (1) The open educational resources model, including textbooks, has emerged as a response to rising text prices, a need for greater access to high-quality learning materials, the proliferation of e-reader devices, and a trend in publishing toward…

This report examines the contribution of self-evaluation to internal review processes in Scotland's colleges. It identifies the range of methodologies used by colleges, what makes these effective and what needs to improve further. It explores in particular, the extent to which self-evaluation has a positive impact on learners' experiences. The…

The cooperation of various stakeholders' groups is a prerequisite to develop and realise high-quality study programmes, i.e. during studies to develop skills that are relevant to the labour market and social life. In order to achieve effective stakeholders' cooperation, it is necessary to identify stakeholder's groups relevant to a study programme…

New testing theories, concepts, and psychometric methods (e.g., item response theory, test equating, and item bank) developed during the past several decades have many advantages over previous theories and methods. In spite of their introduction to the field, they have not been fully accepted by physical educators. Further, the manner in which…

This study investigates the quality of childcare centres in urban Australian communities designated according to different bands of Centre Location Demographics (CLD). Childcare centres were assessed using the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale- Revised Edition (ECERS-R) and the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale-Extension (ECERS-E).…

This article attempts to analyze the main tendencies of the higher education systems and policies within the Mercosur, a regional bloc composed by Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay. The article discusses some global trends and describes the process of educational integration in the Mercosur as well as the higher education systems of each of…

Founded in 1889, Slippery Rock University (SRU) is a state university with 8,500 students and 400 faculty. Facilities and planning (F&P) employs 178 staff, of which 50 are custodians. F&P is responsible for the maintenance of 560 acres and 60 major buildings that comprise approximately 2.3 million gross square feet. Currently work is…

The quality and quantity of lecturers in Tertiary institutions to a great extent determines the quality of graduates. To ensure quality and quantity the Colleges of Education in Nigeria have established internal and external mechanisms. Quantity is determined by the number of students to a given lecturer. Despite the mechanism put forward to…

In order to promote the sustained and healthy development of teaching evaluation work, five changes should be brought about in the evaluation of the level of undergraduate teaching at China's institutions of higher education: Change teaching evaluation from a specific item of work to a system of a long-term and normative nature; change teaching…

A questionnaire investigation of academic staff and teaching administrators at Shanghai Normal University and Shanghai Fisheries University shows that the evaluation of the standards of undergraduate teaching work has had positive effects on teaching work and that setting up an evaluation system is an effective measure for assuring the quality of…

Student evaluation of teaching is a fundamental system for assuring teaching quality at higher education institutions (HEIs). Its establishment has provided students with a routine channel for voicing their wishes with regard to teaching and is helpful for HEIs to establish "serve the students" as the aim of their operations. Student…

Purpose: The paper reports on findings of research into the institutional and individual influences on engaging in professional development (PD), reflecting on how PD might be made available in ways which could support quality in e-learning. Design/methodology/approach: The paper presents findings of a research project exploring factors…

Purpose: In 2004, the University of the West Indies Distance Education Centre (UWIDEC) began incorporating the use of new information and communication technologies (ICTs) in the delivery of its programmes and courses, taking a "blended learning" approach. There is a recognition, however, of the need to ensure the quality of the…