Quality assurance and school monitoring in Hong Kong

This study reports on the Hong Kong education quality assurance and school monitoring system. Three research questions were addressed: (1) Who controls the quality of school education in Hong Kong? (2) What strategies are used in the Hong Kong school education quality assurance process? (3) Agenda for Future Research on quality assurance and school monitoring in Hong Kong. The analysis found that whilst quality assurance systems in Hong Kong are sophisticated, major reviews are necessary to rebuild trust between the government and practitioners.     

The impact of education reform on the quality assurance system in Japan

International assessment studies have shown since decades that Japanese students score highly on math and science tests. As a consequence, many scholars, education policy officials and journalists outside Japan share the opinion that quality of education is ensured and turn to the Japanese educational system to identify educational effectiveness enhancing factors. Simultaneously, a sense of educational crisis exists within Japan, which resulted into numerous education reforms. In this paper, we describe how quality in education has been ensured in Japan, what changes in the assurance of quality are brought forth by the most recent wave of reform measures as well as the reaction of scholars toward these measures.     

Quality assurance and assessment in education in Papua New Guinea

Education in Papua New Guinea (PNG) has experienced major shifts and changes over the last decade or so under the National Education Reform. In that context there is recognition for schools to appreciate their local contexts and conditions regarding assessment. The National Educational Department is also aware of the fact that there is need for some level of control from the national perspective to ensure a level playing field for assessment. Along with school–based assessment and national assessment processes, teacher inspections and appraisal, school and curriculum observations and appraisal are also recognized as elemental in ensuring quality control across the country. This article represents the modes and methods of assessment and quality assurance in PNG within the context of the current policy debates and policy development on education reform.     

A framework for enhancing regulatory cooperation in external quality assurance in Southern Africa

Cross-border higher education (CBHE) has taken centre stage in the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC). There has been increased trade in higher education services among member states of the SADC. This has necessitated regional regulatory cooperation in quality assurance and accreditation. SADC has established the Southern African Quality Assurance Network as a regional network of external quality assurance agencies. This paper presents a framework that can be used to enhance regulatory cooperation within the Network on quality assurance in higher education with special focus on CBHE. The paper identifies the main areas of focus as people mobility, institutional and programme mobility, accreditation and registration and recognition of academic credentials. Proposed mechanisms for regulatory cooperation include regional credit accumulation and transfer system, regional qualifications framework, framework for accreditation and registration of foreign providers and framework for recognition of academic credentials.     

初中英语课程评价：内涵、商榷、构建与展望

随着新一轮课程改革的逐步开展,初中英语课程评价关注学生综合语言运用能力发展的目标仍存在诸多商榷之处,如以“教”评“学”,注重教师“预设”,对课堂“生成”关注不力;形成性评价对学生个体的差异性、多样性关注不够;以中考为轴心,全面性及公平性凸显不足。有鉴于此,应采取构建“以学定教”的初中英语课堂教学评价模式,注重“三维目标”“不走样”地落实;注重形成性评价对学生个体的差异性、多样性的关注;切实推进中考改革,促进教育公平等策略及措施,促进初中英语课程评价的顺利实施,并做好初、高中英语教学、评价的衔接。     

School assessment in Thailand: roles and achievement of ONESQA

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 Office for National Education Standards and Quality Assessment (ONESQA). The office is an independent body set up to develop the criteria, methods for external assessment and assessment of educational institutions at each level of education as stipulated in the national education law. The ONESQA became operational in November 2000 and it must appraise every school at least once every 5-year cycle. In this paper, the unique and the roles of the ONESQA will be described. The achievement of the ONESQA concerning the first round assessment of 35,134 schools at the basic education level will be reported and recommendations for quality improvements and lessons learned for the second round assessment will be explored.     

From inspection to quality: Ways in which school inspection influences change in schools

Inspection is employed by most European education systems as an instrument for controlling and promoting the quality of schools. Yet there is little research knowledge about how inspection drives the improvement of schools. The study reports on surveys to principals in primary and secondary education in six European countries to attempt to clarify how school inspection impacts on the improvement of schools. Based on an analysis of principals’ perceptions the evidence suggests that inspection primarily drives change indirectly, through encouraging certain developmental processes, rather than through more direct coercive methods. Inspectorates that set clear expectations and standards have an impact on the increased utilization of self-evaluation and on developing the capacity of schools to improve in a variety of ways.     

以课程建设促进学校内涵发展——以上海市进华中学为例

课程建设是促进学校内涵发展的重要策略之一。上海市进华中学在上海“二期课改”精神指导下,坚持为学生一生发展奠基的理念,以课程建设为抓手,逐渐形成了数学学科的“龙头效应”,陶艺教育的互通教学,特长教育彰显创新意识,社会综合实践课程注重学生全面发展的新模式,并建设形成了以“成熟的校本课程体系,指引学生全面成长,促进教师队伍深度发展”为特征的课程良性发展系统。     

Observing instructional quality in the context of school evaluation

Observational measures of instructional quality are used in both research and evaluation contexts. In European school evaluation systems, one main intended use of classroom observation results is to inform schools' instructional improvement efforts. This study examined the quality of such diagnostic information in the context of a school evaluation system in Germany. The factor analytic results indicate that the empirical structure of the observation instrument lacks correspondence with its original normative model but does mirror a five-factor model based on recent literature, including classroom management, two different aspects of student orientation, cognitive activation, and classroom assessment. The generalizability analyses show that both indicators and observers represent important sources of measurement error. Additionally, their magnitude is larger for shorter observations (lesson segments). At least two, sometimes three, observers and between five and ten indicators per dimension are needed to achieve sufficiently reliable results, but results importantly depend on which dimension of instructional quality is being assessed.     

Professionalism,profession and quality assurance practitioners in external quality assurance agencies in higher education

This article seeks to spark a dialectic discussion on the establishment of a set of professional competencies for quality assurance practitioners who serve in external quality assurance agencies in higher education. Such a need is identified due to the shortage of relevant and sufficient coverage in the quality assurance literature. To substantiate the need, the concepts of professionalism and profession, and how these concepts are linked to the quality assurance in higher education sector, are carefully examined through a desk-top research study. References are drawn from the experiences in several other occupations. The result reveals that the development of the essential competencies for external quality assurance practitioners in higher education is valuable and essential and it will be useful for the practitioners to transform themselves into a profession in the long run.     

探索应用型本科院校实践教学质量保证与监控——以福建工程学院为例

构建一个学校总体的实践教学大体系,把大体系分解为校级实践教学体系、各学科专业实践教学体系、课外创新实践体系,并分别对这3个小体系,进行实践教学的质量保证和监控的探索和实践。把握住这3个小的体系实践教学质量,实质上就保证了一个学校总体的实践教学质量,达到学校培养应用型人才的目标。     

高中新课程的亮点：综合实践活动

综合实践活动是高中新课程的亮点,更是新课程的难点。综合实践活动强调经验对学生成长的价值,重视实际问题的解决是一种需要学生认知、能力、情感、态度和价值观共同参与的学习活动。综合实践活动课程集中代表了新课程的价值取向和基本理念。     

Quality assurance in the Singapore education system in an era of diversity and innovation

This paper describes how Singapore attempts to balance the need for quality assurance and the need for educational diversity and innovation. The Singapore experience shows that this is a delicate balance. On the one hand, to promote diversity and innovation, the government attempts to decentralise its power to the schools. On the other hand, for quality assurance, the government sets up quality structures that reassert the centrality of government control. This paper examines the implications of such a strategy and the challenges that schools face in navigating a new paradigm of diversity and innovation while satisfying the requirements of quality assurance.     

新西兰的学校审评概述

新西兰经过多年努力后,在新西兰教育审评办公室的带领、指导下,形成了一套井然有序的学校评估程序及适合各类学生各自潜力发展的全面的评估体系。它分别从学生的学习、有效的教学、学校的管理与领导、学校治理、安全与包容性的校园文化、家长与公众的参与这六个方面来指导学校审评。     

Multilevel Modelling in Repeated Measures of the Quality of Finnish School Life

The main interest of the paper is methodological: to exploit multilevel modelling in analysing quality of school life data gathered in 1991 and 1995 in Finnish comprehensive schools, with the intention of investigating differences and related changes in the quality of school life over time. The specific methodological aim is to explore the advantages gained and problems encountered while applying multilevel models and the statistical program MLwiN in analysing large scale educational data with repeated measures. The quality of school life was assessed by a representative sample of all the Grade 8 pupils throughout the country with a 4 year interval in the same schools. The measurement of the quality of school life focused on general school satisfaction and on teacher-student relations. The validity of the instrument was confirmed by means of factor analysis. The findings of the multilevel statistical analysis are discussed both from an educational and a methodological point of view.     

普通高中学业水平考试学业质量评价功能开发的理性思考

普通高中学业水平考试是高中阶段教育教学质量评价体系的重要组成部分,科学开发其学业质量评价功能,是有效服务于高中教育教学的前提。本文讨论了开发普通高中学业水平考试学业质量评价功能的缘由、应秉持的理念、应遵循的原则以及利用其开展学业质量评价的主要环节,并针对该考试及其评价功能开发存在的主要问题提出了建议。     

略论新课程背景下中学英语课程资源的开发与利用

英语教学的特点之一是妥使学生尽可能通过不同渠道、以不同形式来学习真实、鲜活、实用的英语,直接体验语言和运用语言。因此,在英语教学中,除了合理有效地使用教科书以外,还应该积极开发和利用学校的各种资源,为学生提供丰富、真实的学习语言和使用语言的机会。为了提供丰富的课程资源,开拓教和学的渠道,更新教和学的方式,使英语教学更加真实、生动、开放和灵活,英语课程应该充分开发和利用校内校外资源。     

Assessing assessment quality: Criteria for quality assurance in design of (peer) assessment for learning - A review of research studies

The interest in assessment for learning (AfL) has resulted in a search for new modes of assessment that are better aligned to students’ learning how to learn. However, with the introduction of new assessment tools, also questions arose with respect to the quality of its measurement. On the one hand, the appropriateness of traditional, psychometric criteria is being questioned in the context of assessment for learning. On the other hand, it has been argued that new criteria need to be formulated to acknowledge the unique features of assessment for learning. The issue dealt with in this review is what quality criteria are specifically relevant to AfL. Studies using (peer) assessment for learning were evaluated with regard to use of quality criteria under two perspectives: their recognition of educational measurement criteria, as well as their consideration of student involvement in the assessment of learning. The selected studies were analyzed to determine what specific criteria were utilized in (successive parts of) the assessment cycle (i.e., the process of construction, administration and follow up of an assessment). Our results indicate that quality criteria are dissimilarly connected to the distinct steps of an assessment cycle, which holds as well for the attention given to student involvement in assessment for learning.     

On the role of impact evaluation of quality assurance from the strategic perspective of quality assurance agencies in the European higher education area

In this paper the current national legislations, the quality assurance approaches and the activities of impact analysis of three quality assurance agencies from Romania, Spain and Germany are described from a strategic perspective. The analysis shows that the general methodologies (comprising, for example, self-evaluation reports, peer reviews, on-site visits, assessment reports, follow-up measures) and main subjects of quality assurance in higher education (such as study programmes and institutional structures and processes) are very similar in the sample cases. However, up to now, impact evaluation of quality assurance has not been implemented systematically in the sample agencies (as in many others). This is the more relevant since the European standards of quality assurance in higher education oblige quality assurance agencies to analyse their general findings and observe the effects of their activities. Against that background, it is argued that methodologically sound impact analyses of quality assurance interventions in higher education institutions should be seen as an integral part of the agencies’ own quality assurance because it would make their work more transparent and easier to improve systematically. The paper identifies some professionalisation needs required for impact evaluation competences: staff and peers who are qualified by methodological knowledge but also by ‘soft’ skills such as project and conflict management.