This paper describes the Skovde Project to be implemented in day care centers in Skovde, Sweden. The purpose of this project is to identify the current quality of care in day care centers and to examine the impact of upcoming decentralized organization of the centers and a more flexible child care levy system on the effectiveness of resource use…

This paper examines the problem of defining quality in early childhood centers, the nature of evaluation methods, and the contributions of research to the promotion of high quality. The concept of quality is multidimensional and dynamic, and there is no consensus about a definition of quality in the literature. Quality can be viewed from many…

This study sought to compare educationally-oriented preschools and care-oriented preschools in Bahrain. Children's progress was compared in an effort to measure the relative quality of the preschools. Twelve preschools were assessed through observations of child and staff behaviors utilizing the Early Childhood Environmental Rating Scale (ECERS).…

The purpose of this report was to explore one way in which quantitative and qualitative paradigms in program evaluation can be employed to reinforce each other. An evaluation was conducted of a large number of special education programs for preschoolers with handicaps in Louisiana. Since 1978, Louisiana has funded programs in 65 public school…

This paper describes a study carried out in Portugal on the effects of three different preschool curricula on children's entry into primary school. These curricula are High Scope, Formal Skills, and Movimento da Escola Moderna. The sample consisted of 223 children followed longitudinally from nursery to primary school. Systematic observations were…