This Policy Brief draws on the "Quality beyond Regulations" policy review undertaken by the OECD between 2018 and 2022 to foster an understanding of the different dimensions of quality in early childhood education and care (ECEC), focusing on process quality in particular. Process quality encompasses children's daily interactions through…

This is a critical reflection upon the Quality and Qualifications Ireland (2018) guidelines on blended learning from the perspective of a Further Education and Training practitioner. The purpose of the guidelines is set out and it is suggested that there is much to be welcomed here. The contested meaning of the term blended learning is explored…

This paper examines the rise of value-added as a measure of quality in education. As a point of departure, the paper begins with an analysis of the rise of the concept of quality in education and discusses how, at times, various contradictory determinants of quality have managed to influence the evaluation and assessment frameworks of most…

The relationship between school inspection and school self-evaluation in Ireland has shifted from a largely theoretical one to that of a regulatory requirement where schools are mandated to engage with an externally devised process of self-evaluation. The conduct of self-evaluation in schools is quality assured by the inspectorate. It is not clear…

There are lessons for Australia in the key approaches to the development, approval, maintenance and quality assurance of qualifications adopted in countries overseas. This research takes into account a range of approaches used in selected European Union (EU) member states (Germany, Finland and Sweden), the United Kingdom (England, Northern Ireland…

"New" school inspections are essential parts of "evidence-based governance" concepts and have been implemented by many European countries as a major strategy to assure and improve the effectiveness and quality of their education systems. However, national inspection systems vary in their composition and in their contextual…

The Annual International Conference of the Bulgarian Comparative Education Society is now running in its thirteenth year. From its modest beginnings thirteen years ago, to its impressive size today, a tradition has been the production of a conference book, consistently launched on the first day of the conference each year. This year, Volume 13 of…

The government of Ireland, like many European countries, is currently under severe pressure from external forces to grow the economy. One possible way to maintain and grow its economy is through the production of a highly educated and globally competitive workforce. In an effort to develop such a workforce, the government, through the Department…

The title of this document is a deliberate play on the title of the biennial reports on the progress of Bologna produced by the European Students' Union, "Bologna With Student Eyes." It is a way of paying tribute to student involvement in the Bologna reforms, and marking a parallel student working participation in the state system…

Evaluating schools has become a contentious issue in many countries. There seems to be a broad and growing consensus that some form of evaluation can on the one hand play a significant role in school improvement efforts, and on the other is also required to provide a reasonable level of public accountability appropriate in democratic societies.…

Against a general backdrop of an international discourse on educational reform that has focused on accountability, this article provides a detailed and critical analysis of the evolution of accountability policy and practice in Irish primary and post-primary education during the past 20 years. The analysis indicates clearly that national policy…