Family child care in four Midwestern states: Multiple measures of quality and relations to outcomes by licensed status and subsidy program participation

Quality of family child care in four Midwestern states was examined using four measures designed to assess structural and/or process quality to determine if dimensions converge or vary across types of family child care (licensed and license-exempt/registered) and subsidy receipt (programs serving children whose care is paid by subsidies and programs not serving subsidized children). Two instruments designed specifically for use with family child care that measure both structural and process quality were used (Family Day Care Rating Scale and Quality Instrument for Informal Child Care), as well as one instrument measuring process quality (Caregiver Interaction Scale) and one instrument measuring structural quality (Midwest Child Care Assets Index). The two instruments designed to measure both structural and process quality in family child care were highly correlated with each other, while both of these were moderately correlated with the measure of process quality. The measure of structural quality was not significantly correlated with the measure of process quality. Licensed family child care homes scored higher than license-exempt/registered family child care homes on three of the four measures (all but the Caregiver Interaction Scale), and family child care homes receiving child care subsidies scored lower than those not receiving subsidies on three of the four measures (all but the Assets Index).     

Predicting process quality from structural quality in preschool programs: a cross-country comparison

In this cross-national study, the relations between structural and process quality in preschool classrooms are examined and compared across four countries—Germany (n = 82), Portugal (n = 80), Spain (n = 55), and the United States (n = 288). Process quality was assessed using the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale and the Caregiver Interaction Scale. Structural quality variables include classroom, center, wage, and regional characteristics. A MANOVA found differences in levels of structural variables used in the different countries. Hierarchical regression, in which blocks of structural variables were entered according to their relative proximity to process quality, indicated that despite the diversity of the national systems, many of the same structural features have an impact on process quality. However, no one consistently powerful predictor of process quality was found, and there was no single block of variables with an overwhelming influence. The findings are viewed in terms of possibilities for improving process quality through manipulation of structural characteristics.     

Examining Different Forms of Implementation and in Early Childhood Curriculum Research

The purpose of this study was to examine different approaches to assessing implementation in an early childhood curriculum research study. Early childhood teachers in 51 preschool classes located at nationally dispersed sites implemented the Children's School Success curriculum for a school year. Structural (proportion of curriculum delivered) and process (quality of delivery of curriculum) measures of implementation were collected for the literacy, math, and social components of the curriculum. Also, a multiplicative composite score incorporating information from the structural and process measures was calculated. Site differences occurred for the process measure, but not the structural and composite measures. Analysis of the process implementation measures collected across time revealed primarily stable trends across sites. Significant associations were found between measures of implementation and some of the child outcome variables, with the different forms of implementation associated with different outcome variables.     

Structural model of head start classroom quality

The purpose of this research study was to develop, test, and validate a model that identifies the characteristics and beliefs of teachers and aides, and the classroom structural dimensions associated with Head Start classroom quality. The quality of classroom teaching practices was collected using the Assessment Profile for Early Childhood Programs: Research Version. Classroom structural characteristics were collected by observers. Teachers and teacher aides completed three self-report instruments: Teacher Beliefs Scale, Instructional Activities Scale, and Family Involvement Survey. Data analyses were conducted using structural equation modeling with the Lisrel VII computer program. The model was tested with Year 1 classroom level data and validated with Year 2 data. Education Level was shown to directly affect Inappropriate Beliefs, which impacted Inappropriate Instructional Activities, which influenced Classroom Quality. Neither Education Level nor Teacher Beliefs had direct effects on Classroom Quality, but they had indirect effects through Instructional Activities. Classroom Structure was associated directly with Quality. Education Level and Classroom Quality were associated directly with Attitudes Toward Families.     

芬兰幼儿教育与保育评价体系及对我国的启示

为了提高幼儿教育与保育质量,2019年芬兰出台了《幼儿教育与保育评价的指南与建议》(以下简称《指南与建议》)。《指南与建议》提出幼儿教育与保育评价指标,包括过程质量指标和结构质量指标,评价主体包括国家、地区和教学活动三级;在评价过程中秉持系统性评价原则、以提高为导向的原则和质量管理原则。《指南与建议》的实施使得芬兰幼儿教育与保育评价体系更加系统化。借鉴芬兰幼儿教育与保育评价的做法,我国学前教育质量评价体系应强调结构质量指标和过程质量指标,丰富结构质量指标的构成要素,改进学前教育过程质量评价观,转变学前教育质量评价的价值取向。     

Instrument Development and Validation of the Infant and Toddler Assessment for Quality Improvement

Research Findings: There is a growing need for accurate and efficient measures of classroom quality in early childhood education and care (ECEC) settings. Observational measures are costly, as their administration generally takes 3–5 hr per classroom. This article outlines the process of development and preliminary concurrent validity testing of the Assessment for Quality Improvement (AQI), a new measure of global quality. The AQI is a classroom-level measure of structural and process quality. It consists of 24 items on a 5-point scale designed for use in ECEC infant and toddler classrooms. At between 60 and 90 min per room, the AQI is a relatively efficient measure. Item response theory modeling was used to ensure logical and coherent ordering of subitems. Exploratory factor analysis supported the use of the AQI total score and the Interactions section as a stand-alone measure. Correlations between the Infant and Toddler versions of the AQI and the Infant/Toddler Environment Rating Scale–Revised were moderate, providing preliminary support for the concurrent validity of both versions. Practice or Policy: Our results suggest that the AQI is a promising, efficient measure of global quality in infant and toddler ECEC environments. This may be especially relevant for Quality Rating and Improvement Systems, for which the observational component is a major cost driver.     

Building a Sustainable Quality MattersTM Community of Practice Through Social Network Analysis

ABSTRACT

The growth of distance education has necessitated strong evidence of quality for institutions of higher education, and numerous standards and principles of quality have been developed, such as Quality Matters? (Quality Matters). These systems are often considered only at the course level to guide design and improve student outcomes, but they can also help to pull the institution together and galvanize advancement in online development. Adopting online quality standards can be a complex process that requires changes to institutional culture. This article describes how the use of the Community of Practice (CoP) framework engaged a campus-wide network of individuals in adoption of the Quality Matters training, rubric, and review process to advance distance education support and online course development. Using Social Network Analysis, researchers were able to identify the strengths and weakness of the CoP during the early adoption phase of Quality Matters to quantitatively measure the connections among members of the community.

Based on a survey administered to every participant who attended the Applying the Quality Matters Rubric? (APPQMR) workshop, researchers analyzed connections across the Quality Matters? (Quality Matters) Community of Practice (CoP). This analysis indicated strong cohesion of the network based on work related to distance education but low density for connections based on Quality Matters. Furthermore, it demonstrated that significant connections existed between members prior to the adoption of Quality Matters and identified key influencers within the network. The results also indicated that the Quality Matters leadership team at the institution is highly central to the Quality Matters CoP network. The results can be used to identify strategies to further adoption of Quality Matters at the institution by strengthening the CoP.     

Structural and Process Quality of Danish Preschools: Direct and Indirect Associations With Children’s Growth in Language and Preliteracy Skills

Structural quality in childcare centers is considered a precondition for process quality, which in turn is related to children’s outcomes. However, the evidence on relations between structural and process quality is mixed. Moreover, despite strong theoretical claims, empirical evidence supporting the indirect relation of structural features through process quality on child outcomes is scarce. The current study contributes to the knowledge by (a) investigating the direct relations of structural teacher and classroom features with growth in children’s language and preliteracy skills in a sample of more than 3,000 children, (b) studying the associations of process quality with children’s outcomes using the widely used Classroom Assessment Scoring System Pre-K observational measure among more than 400 teachers, and (c) testing indirect effects of structural quality through process quality on growth in children’s skills. Process quality was generally directly positively associated with gains in children’s language and preliteracy skills, whereas structural quality showed few direct relations. In addition, the average level of children’s initial language and preliteracy skills were positively related to gains, as was classrooms’ proportion of non-Danish children (indirectly through process quality). The results illustrate the complexities of relations between structural and process quality and children’s outcomes and warrant further research.     

面向课程的教学质量保证体系

本文在借鉴全面质量管理思想与软件质量保证理论的基础上,提出了课程教学过程模型和质量保证体系组织结构模型,建立了针对课程教学关键环节进行质量监督与评价的课程教学质量保证体系,实践效果显著。     

远程开放教育教学过程质量监控

远程开放教育教学过程的质量监控是中央电大“人才培养模式改革和开放教育试点”项目的核心内容。试点改革成败的关键在于教学质量,而教学质量好坏的关键又在于教学过程的质量监控。本文介绍了近几年来汕头电大进行开放教育教学过程质量监控项目研究的一些成果,并对目前存在的问题提出一些改进建议。     

高校网络教育内部质量保证体系构建

本文分析了网络教育的质量与质量观,对网络教育内部质量研究进行了综述,并构建了网络教育内部质量保证体系,包括规划、实施和监控三个层次,以及教学规划、教学资源、教学管理、支持服务和过程监控五个基本要素,最后以上海交通大学的网络教育实践为案例进行了说明.     

课程学习经历何以影响本科生满意度?——专业承诺的中介效应检验

改善高校的教与学,以提升高等教育质量,是我国高等教育发展的重要途径。文章运用对重庆市6所高校493名本科生的调查数据探讨了学生感知的课程学习经历与课程满意度及专业承诺的关系。研究发现:(1)本科生课程学习经历、课程满意度和专业承诺总体情况较好,女生感知的课程学习经历和专业承诺水平均优于男生;(2)课程满意度在主要的人口学变量上均无显著差异;(3)不同的课程学习经历对课程满意度存在显著影响,而这一影响受到专业承诺的中介影响。因此,高校优化课程学习环境可以增强学生专业承诺,提高其课程满意度。     

Investigating effects of the quality of field experiences and personality on perceived teaching skills in German pre-service teachers for secondary schools

Quality of field experiences during teacher education as well as individual characteristics of student teachers are considered important for the development of teaching skills. In the present study we investigated both organizational and individual predictors of self-rated teaching skills in student teachers for secondary schools in Germany (N = 443). As predictor variables for teaching skills after a field experience we assessed the perceived quality of the internship as well as personality traits, as control variables prior educational experiences and academic abilities. The assessed quality feature “linking theory and practice” explained more variance in the prediction of teaching skills than personality traits.     

人性和人的本质视角下的素质教育观

人性就是人的本性、天性,人的本质即人的根本性质,是人性的根本部分,包括人的界本质、人的类本质和人的个性本质三部分,三者统一于人的现实本质。人的本质的根本特征是生成性。素质的本义指事物本来的性质,人的素质是人性和人的本质的基础、根源、种子。人性和人的本质生成的过程,就是人的身心发展的过程,即人的社会化和个性化的过程,亦即素质发展、生长的过程。所以,素质教育就是人性教育、形成人的良好本质的教育,是培养丰富的人性和充分张扬生命的教育。素质教育体现了教育的真谛,本质上是全面发展教育的初始阶段。     

计量型数据控制图在转向泵生产中的实用技术研究

在汽车行业的质量控制体系中,企业通常都会把控制图作为重要的过程控制手段.一般说来,企业都严格遵循SPC技术运用固定化和模式化的标准控制图来进行质量管理和过程控制.然而,大连液压件厂通过实践,使计量型数据控制图技术在汽车转向泵的生产中得到应用,并独创了阀孔控制图和试验台用油清洗度控制图,增强了控制图的适用性,效果比较理想,有很好的实用价值.     

论素质

想提高素质教育，首先必须要弄清楚什么叫素质。素质教育中素质的概念乃是一个专用的综合性的概念。素质可以多方位观察：从横向上划分，有方向性素质与能量素质；从纵向分析，有自然素质、心理素质、社会文化素质。从教育阶段划分，有基础素质、专业素质专项素质。高等教育（含高职教育）阶段的重点则是专业素质。素质的形成是一个化学过程而不是物理过程。素质各要素只有结合成一个新的结构才能成为素质。素质是一种内在的、无形的、综合性的、全面的内在潜能；因而只有通过全面素质教育，获得完整的潜能才叫素质。     

The Quality of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education: Evaluating the Evidence

The issue of the quality of teaching in higher education is in the process of becoming a matter of greater public interest than hitherto. This paper concerns the evidence on which quality can be assessed. Drawing on the relevant literature from both the secondary and tertiary sectors of education, it reviews the types of evidence which are available. A critical analysis is offered of the extent to which each isolates teaching quality from distinct variables such as student characteristics and assessment standards. It is argued that quantitative approaches do not currently offer potential to assess teaching quality and are unlikely to do so given the current structure of higher education. The greatest promise lies in the external scrutiny recently instituted by the Higher Education Funding Councils and the Higher Education Quality Council. It is recommended that this scrutiny would be further strengthened by integrating the functions of these two authorities and by phasing out the use of numerical assessment scales in favour of wholly qualitative reporting.     

论个人素质的积累和管理

素质是指个人在社会中所具备的可以创造社会公认的成功的思维和行为能力。素质具有自然性与社会性，稳定性、可塑性及进化性，资本性。素质的提高是一个积累过程，素质拥有自身应该努力经营和管理其素质。     

研究生教育质量提升与规模扩张的冲突及其协调

质量提升与规模扩张是研究生教育固有的矛盾之一,就质量问题达成共识和有效解决质量问题要以对其进行科学分类为前提。我国研究生教育质量提升与规模扩张之间的冲突有其特殊性,良好的战略规划与战略管理、多样化发展、整体结构调整是解决冲突的有效举措。     

我国成人高等教育质量保障体系发展述评

成人高等教育保障体系是由旨在提高成人高等教育质量的各个因素相互关联而构成的一个立体的、动态的系统。我国成人高等教育质量保障体系的发展是一个漫长的过程。在其发展过程中,国家的方针政策起着重要的作用。建立和完善我国成人高等教育质量保障体系需要国家、社会、市场、学校等方面的大力投入。