Education Quality Indicators Research Articles

Teachers and Change: The Role of Reflective Practice

1. This paper argues that the most powerful, durable and effective agents of educational change are not the policy makers, the curriculum developers or even the education authorities themselves; they are the teachers. It further contends that the quality of the educational changes that teachers have the skills and opportunities to effect will only be as reliable and proficient as the teachers’ individual capacities for reflective practice and the development of self knowledge. These aspects of teacher development have, historically, been largely overlooked in the preparation and promotion of effective teachers. The emphasis has been more explicitly focused on the development and demonstration of teachers’ understanding of content knowledge and the associated pedagogies and in their capacities to understand their students as individual constructors of knowledge in diverse social contexts. Whilst the former teacher characteristics have traditionally been valued as desirable or even mandatory indicators of teacher quality, the latter are heavily impacted upon by the individual pedagogue's values, attitudes and notions of what it is to be a professional practitioner. In order for teachers to be effective in the Information Age, they need to recognize more than just their students’ background and learning preferences. They need to be able to take effective, positive action in the classroom context to improve the educational outcomes for their students. In order to do this they must have the willingness and cognitive capacities to recognize ethical dilemmas and examine their own perspectives on the issues they face critically and analytically. This requires regular, authentic reflection. The reflective process in which one teacher engaged as part of his role in a research study is documented...

Indicators of Childhood Quality of Education in Relation to Cognitive Function in Older Adulthood

The association between years of education and cognitive function in older adults has been studied extensively, but the role of quality of education is unknown. We examined indicators of childhood educational quality as predictors of cognitive performance and decline in later life. Participants included 433 older adults (52% African American) who reported living in Alabama during childhood and completed in-home assessments of cognitive function at baseline and 4 years later. Reports of residence during school years were matched to county-level data from the 1935 Alabama Department of Education report for school funding (per student), student-teacher ratio, and school year length. A composite measure of global cognitive function was utilized in analyses. Multilevel mixed effects models accounted for clustering of educational data within counties in examining the association between cognitive function and the educational quality indices. Higher student-teacher ratio was associated with worse cognitive function and greater school year length was associated with better cognitive function. These associations remained statistically significant in models adjusted for education level, age, race, gender, income, reading ability, vascular risk factors, and health behaviors. The observed associations were stronger in those with lower levels of education (≤12 years), but none of the education quality measures were related to 4-year change in cognitive function. Educational factors other than years of schooling may influence cognitive performance in later life. Understanding the role of education in cognitive aging has substantial implications for prevention efforts as well as accurate identification of older adults with cognitive impairment.

A Higher Education Quality Assurance Model for Small States: The Maldives Case Study

This paper presents findings of a case study in the Maldives of a holistic quality assurance model for higher education in Small States. Although case study is situated in the Maldives, an example of a Small State, the findings provided useful reference for policy makers, practitioners and professionals in other Small States. The study draws on a systems theory to investigate the systemic characteristics of quality assurance in higher education. It is a qualitative case study based and includes the use of document analysis and interviews data. The preliminary findings indicate that regulatory mechanisms, independence, one-tier system, guidelines and standards, transparency, academic audit, accreditation and collaboration emerged as critical areas for the system of quality assurance in higher education for Small States. Some of the mechanisms used by bigger nations to address the above critical areas may not be appropriate for Small States, adding weight to the ‘fit for purpose’ definition of quality. Keywords - Higher education accreditation, Higher education quality indicators, Standards of higher education, higher education quality regulations, Programme accreditation, institutional accreditation, institutional audit.

Student learning experience as indicator of teaching quality

The purpose of the study was to develop an improved teaching evaluation questionnaire based on students’ learning experiences and selected teacher characteristics identified as indicators of teaching quality. Teaching evaluation questionnaires are commonly designed either based on agreed indicators of teaching excellence, students’ suggestions of characteristics of excellence, or dimensions identified from interviews conducted with excellent teachers. In this study, however, students’ evaluation of their own learning experiences in learner centered classes and a hypothesized framework derived from the literature were used to develop the items for the questionnaire. Students attended to courses designed in a learner centered paradigm and evaluated their learning experiences. Based on the hypothesized framework and students’ reflections of their experiences, items were designed and validated at various levels. Exploratory factor analysis resulted in a 24-item Student Evaluation of Learning and Teaching Questionnaire (SELTQ) that comprises four factors: assessment and feedback; course organization and presentation; student self evaluation; and students’ level of engagement. As opposed to the questionnaire widely used in higher education institutions in Ethiopia that focuses on the evaluation of selected teacher characteristics, the new measure enables students to evaluate teaching in terms of their own learning progress.

Teacher Quality Indicators as Predictors of Instructional Assessment Practices in Science Classrooms in Secondary Schools in Barbados

This study investigated the self-reported instructional assessment practices of a selected sample of secondary school science teachers in Barbados. The study sought to determine if there were statistically significant differences in the instructional assessment practices of teachers based on their sex and teacher quality (teaching experience, professional qualification and teacher academic qualification). It also sought to determine the extent to which each of these four selected variables individually and jointly affected the teachers’ report of their instructional assessment practices. A sample of 55 science teachers from nine secondary schools in Barbados was randomly selected to participate in this study. Data was collected by means of a survey and was analyzed using the means and standard deviations of the instructional assessment practices scores and linear, multiple and binary logistic regression. The results of the study were such that the majority of the sample reported good overall instructional assessment practices while only a few participants reported moderate assessment practices. The instructional assessment practices in the area of student knowledge were mostly moderate as indicated by the sample. There were no statistically significant differences between or among the mean scores of the teachers’ reported instructional assessment practices based on sex ( t = 0.10; df = 53; p = 0.992), teaching experience ( F[4,50] = 1.766; p = 0.150), the level of professional qualification (F[3,45] = 0.2117; p = 0.111) or the level of academic qualification (F[2,52] = 0.504; p = 0.607). The independent variables (teacher sex, teaching experience, teacher professional qualification or teacher academic qualification) were not significant predictors of the instructional assessment practices scores. However, teacher sex was a significant predictor of the teachers’ report of good instructional assessment practices. The study also found that the joint effect of the variables teacher sex, teaching experience, teacher professional qualification and teacher academic qualification was not significant in predicting the instructional assessment practices scores of the science teachers. However, the joint effect of these variables was statistically significant (X2 = 18.482; df = 10; p = 0.047) in predicting the teachers’ reported use of good instructional assessment practices. The best predictor of teachers’ report of good instructional assessment practices, though not statistically significant, was the diploma in education professional qualification.

A Validity Argument Approach to Evaluating Teacher Value-Added Scores

Value-added models have become popular in research and pay-for-performance plans. While scholars have focused attention on some aspects of their validity (e.g., scoring procedures), others have received less scrutiny. This article focuses on the extent to which value-added scores correspond to other indicators of teacher and teaching quality. The authors compared 24 middle school mathematics teachers’ value-added scores, derived from a large ( N = 222) district data set, to survey- and observation-based indicators of teacher quality, instruction, and student characteristics. This analysis found teachers’ value-added scores correlated not only with their mathematical knowledge and quality of instruction but also with the population of students they teach. Case studies illustrate problems that might arise in using value-added scores in pay-for-performance plans.

Examining the Impact of Teacher Quality on Fourth-Grade Students' Comprehension and Content-Area Achievement

In this study we examined the effects of dimensions of teacher quality on students' comprehension and vocabulary performance. Participants were 36 teachers and their respective 679 students in 2 medium-size school districts in central Texas, both of which served high proportions of children from low–socioeconomic status households. We matched schools in Districts 1 and 2 on the previous year's reading achievement performance and then assigned them to 1 of 2 experimental conditions—comprehension or content vocabulary—through stratified random assignment, with each condition represented in multiple schools in each district. Teachers in each condition participated in a distributed 15 hr of content- and curriculum-based professional development over an 18-week period. The intervention was for 30 min, 3 times a week. We examined the following dimensions of teacher quality: teacher qualifications, instructional practices, quality of strategy use, treatment fidelity, and instructional effectiveness. We used student measures of reading comprehension, content vocabulary, and social studies knowledge to explore the effects of teacher quality. Teachers' education, fidelity, and indicators of teacher quality were significantly related to student outcomes on a standardized measure of reading comprehension.

The Assessment of the Educational Quality in E-citizenship Group of Tehran Technical Complex and Devising Optimization Strategies

The Quality of Educational services has been a matter of major concern to the educators.The education quality indicator is used as an assessment measure all over the world in this respect. The present paper focuses on the educational quality indices of E-citizenship Group of Tehran Technical Complex in form of the input and output of the education system.The study aims at pinpointing both strong and weak points of the above named educational body in order to facilitate the process of decision-making in such like institutions.:The study is an applied one and the data collection method has been descriptive. The statistical population consisted of students, teachers, graduates and Head of the selected centre. The data was collected through the application of sampling, questionnaires, interviews, and checklists. The analysis is done considering 10 factors, 43 standard measures and 84 indicators.The input index (=3.36) is acceptable, process index (=3.29) is inacceptable level, while output index (=2.32) falls below the standard level.The study result showed that the educational quality in the subject centre needed to be improved through implementation of optimizing measures and practical strategies.

Research Quality Assessment: Intended and Unintended Consequences

Assessment, especially when linked to an infrastructure of rewards for successful performance, is a powerful driver of people's behaviour. In the context of publications it is therefore important that assessment tools focus on what is genuinely constitutive of the quality of educational research (i.e. intrinsic characteristics of quality) rather than on short cuts, which may be easier to quantify but which are only related to quality in highly contingent circumstances (i.e. extrinsic characteristics such as citation indices). Drawing on the European Educational Research Quality Indicators project, this article identifies some of the perhaps unwanted consequences of different approaches to quality assessment.

Quality of Primary Education Inputs in Urban Schools: Evidence From Nairobi

This article examines the quality of primary school inputs in urban settlements with a view to understand how it sheds light on benchmarks of education quality indicators in Kenya. Data from a school survey that involved 83 primary schools collected in 2005 were used. The data set contains information on school quality characteristics of various types of schools in Nairobi. On the basis of the national benchmarks, the quality of education provided in government schools was shown to be “better” with regard to infrastructure, teacher qualifications, and textbook provision than that provided in all the nongovernment-owned schools. However, nongovernment schools have smaller class sizes and lower pupil—teacher ratio (PTR). The bad news is that government schools have large class sizes and higher PTR and hence low levels of teacher—pupil interaction. Nongovernment schools had poor classroom structures and a higher pupil—textbook ratio, particulary private individually owned schools and community-owned schools. It also emerges that although in the government schools, student learning space is constrained by the class size, the student learning space in nongovernment schools is constrained by the classroom size. Meeting quality benchmarks in primary schooling, therefore, remains a challenge among urban populations.

What Does “Highly Qualified” Mean for Student Achievement? Evaluating the Relationships between Teacher Quality Indicators and At-Risk Students' Mathematics and Reading Achievement Gains in First Grade

Abstract Policymakers and researchers continue to search for ways to improve K–12 education, which has led to an increased focus on teacher quality as an impetus for educational improvement. As such, current legislation under No Child Left Behind (NCLB) calls for highly qualified teachers in every classroom. But are the characteristics associated with highly qualified teachers associated with increases in student achievement gains? This article explores the relationships between first graders' achievement gains and policy-relevant teacher quality indicators. Using data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study (ECLS-K), this study finds that NCLB successfully places emphasis on at-risk students—a category of students who would, in theory, benefit most from improved teacher quality; however, little support is offered for the perspective that NCLB's indicators of teacher quality are related to achievement gains for either at-risk students or for nonrisk students.

Fundamentos teórico-metodológicos da pesquisa sobre a proposta curricular do programa “São Paulo faz escola”

A reflexão crítica feita neste trabalho acerca da proposta curricular contida no programa “São Paulo faz escola” da Secretaria da Educação do Estado de São Paulo para as unidades da sua rede escolar visa aprofundar a compreensão do sentido da transformação da prática escolar pretendida pelos reformadores. Nos documentos da reforma são explícitas as intenções de transformação da cultura escolar, pela via das práticas curriculares, com o objetivo de mudar o perfil da rede estadual e melhorar os indicadores de qualidade do ensino. A proposta concebe o currículo como espaço de cultura que tem como eixo de aprendizagem o desenvolvimento de competências e no qual os conteúdos estão contextualizados no mundo do trabalho. Problematizamos as dificuldades de apropriação e de concretização da proposta curricular no cotidiano escolar, pelos professores. A reflexão aqui desenvolvida é parte da investigação em andamento, no âmbito da Linha de Pesquisa em Políticas e Práticas Educacionais do PPGE da Uninove, que tem por objetivo apreender os sentidos assumidos pela objetivação da reforma na prática escolar, especificamente em sua dimensão curricular e em seus aspectos político, organizacional e pedagógico.

Market relations in education as the factor, which has impact on the quality of human capital

Market relations in Latvian economy increasingly develop in the field of education. Education becomes a special product and people must know how to sell and how to buy it. Graduates’ ability to fit labour market requirements is an important indicator of education quality. Consequently, the education product should meet labour market requirements. Market research data show that employers, education institutions and students have different visions of what the labour market requirements are.

Market relations in education as the factor, which has impact on the quality of human capital

Market relations in Latvian economy increasingly develop in the field of education. Education becomes a special product and people must know how to sell and how to buy it. Graduates’ ability to fit labour market requirements is an important indicator of education quality. Consequently, the education product should meet labour market requirements. Market research data show that employers, education institutions and students have different visions of what the labour market requirements are.

Identifying Quality Indicators of SAE and FFA: A Delphi Approach

The purpose of this study was to determine quality indicators for SAE and FFA according to 36 experts across the United States. This is a part of a larger study looking at all components of the traditional three-circle model. The study utilized the Delphi technique to garner expert opinion about quality indicators in Agricultural Education. For SAE, round two resulted in two of the 46 quality statements reaching consensus. In addition, 17 SAE items were determined not to be quality indicators. Four of the 26 SAE statements in round three reached consensus. Also, for FFA, round two resulted in 13 of the 65 quality FFA statements reaching consensus, with 16 of the 65 FFA items determined not to be quality indicators of FFA. Six of the 36 FFA statements in round three reached consensus. This study is valuable in determining a scientific basis for identifying possible indicators of quality SAE and FFA.

Focusing on university student engagement at the institutional level

In Australia, there has been a tendency to rely on quantitative indicators of university teaching quality. This has occurred partly because the indicators are perceived as objective and reliable and partly because they are relatively simple to gather and collate. A national project currently underway is based on the assumptions that teaching quality is multidimensional and that the identification and use of relevant indicators of teaching quality are dependent on the institutional environment. With a focus on student engagement, this paper outlines the research-based approach to developing indicators of teaching quality being taken by one Australian university participating in the national project.

A Primer on Quality Indicators of Distance Education

In the past decade, there has been an enormous growth of distance education courses and programs in higher education. The growth of distance education is particularly evident in the field of health education. However, the enormous potential of distance education is tempered by one overriding question: How does one ensure that distance education coursework and degrees are of high quality? To this end, the purpose of this study is twofold: to identify quality indicators of distance education and to provide implications of the identified quality indicators for health education researchers and practitioners. The results of the study reveal common benchmarks and quality indicators that all parties deem important in designing, implementing, and evaluating distance education courses and programs.

Curriculum for Highly Able Learners that Conforms to General Education and Gifted Education Quality Indicators

Legislative measures designed to ensure that all students meet minimal expectations have concerned leaders in gifted education. In this current educational climate of standards and accountability, however, there is arguably greater agreement than ever before between experts and professional organizations in general education and their counterparts in gifted education on what constitutes high-quality curriculum. Toward demonstrating that many groups of learners, gifted among them, stand to benefit from the consensus, this paper (a) synthesizes guidance from curricular voices in both fields; (b) evaluates the viability of 3 gifted education curriculum models—the Integrated Curriculum Model (VanTassel-Baska, 1986), the Multiple Menu Model (Renzulli, 1988) and the Parallel Curriculum Model (Tomlinson et al., 2002)—to conform to these guidelines and contribute to exemplary curriculum design for all learners, including those who are highly able; and (c) offers suggestions for how general education and gifted education can create curricular conditions conducive to educating highly able learners wel.

Sorting Out Teacher Quality

TEACHER has become a hot topic. Everyone wants to measure it, reward it, or improve it. One reason for this interest is that we now have evidence that teachers differ dramatically in their ability to raise student test scores. We don't know why some teachers are better than others, so we say the differences are due to Another reason for our current interest in teacher is that recent No Child Left Behind requirements focus on highly qualified teachers, so we tend to think about indicators of Yet another reason for this interest is that advocates for equity often seek to ensure that schools serving lower-income students provide the same of teachers as those serving more advantaged students. The problem is that teacher has become such a ubiquitous term that it lacks a clear meaning. As researchers and policy analysts enter into debates about teacher quality, they often use the phrase to refer to very different things. For example, people interested in recruitment tend to use the phrase quality to refer to tested ability. (1) These writers want us to design recruitment practices that entice people with higher test scores to become teachers. For them, test scores are an indicator of teacher quality. Meanwhile, people interested in the equitable distribution of teachers across student populations often use the phrase quality to refer to credentials. (2) These writers want to ensure that all students have access to teachers who have obtained comparable licenses and certificates. For them, certificates and teaching experience are indicators of teacher quality. Still other people use the phrase quality to refer to the of teachers' classroom practices. (3) These writers want to improve the work teachers do inside their classrooms, when actually teaching students. For them, specific teaching practices are indicators of teacher quality. Then there are people who think about school finance and who seek the most productive use of expenditures. (4) They often use the phrase quality to refer to teachers' effectiveness in raising student achievement. For them, gains in student achievement are indicators of teacher quality. And, of course, there are people who want teachers to subscribe to particular beliefs and values. In their minds, such values are the chief indicators of teacher quality. These are not the only definitions available, nor are these indicators--test scores, certificates, and so forth--the only available indicators of teacher quality. Such variations in meanings should not be a surprise, for there are indeed numerous dimensions to teacher quality, each of which may be important for different reasons to different people. But unless we can become more precise in our use of the term, we will not improve our ability to measure it, improve it, or reward it. True understanding of teacher requires us to recognize that these many facets are distinct, not always overlapping, and not always related to one another. Moreover, we aren't even sure how they influence and interact with one another when they do. A TAXONOMY OF QUALITIES Recognizing all these aspects of teacher means that we need to start talking about teacher qualities, rather than This slight change in language reminds us that there are many different dimensions of teacher and if we want to improve the broad, general of the American teacher work force, we need to be able to sort out all the specific qualities that are part of it. More important, we need to understand how these different qualities are related to one another and how they complement, contradict, or influence one another. For example, do teachers' own higher test scores actually lead to different or better classroom practices? Do the practices defined in national curriculum frameworks actually yield better student achievement? …

Education of prison inmates: course experience, motivation, and learning strategies as indicators of evaluation

Course experience, motivational beliefs, and self-regulated learning strategies may be considered to be important indicators of education quality. Inmates taking education in prison may also experience particular problems related to the learning environment and to their own learning difficulties. The present study investigated the level of these variables and the relationship between them among 534 inmates under education in Norwegian prisons. The results showed that the prison inmates are generally quite satisfied with the education quality, that they are highly motivated, and use appropriate learning strategies. However, many of them experience that problems such as lack of access to computer equipment and the security routines in prison interfere with their education. A structural equation modelling (SEM) analysis showed that motivational beliefs were mediators between course experience and self-regulated learning strategies. These findings were discussed with respect to improvement of the education quality in prisons and to theoretical issues with relevance beyond the prison context.