Understanding the 'How' of Quality Improvement: Lessons from the Rhode Island Program Quality Intervention

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Title: Understanding the 'How' of Quality Improvement: Lessons from the Rhode Island Program Quality Intervention
Language: English
Authors: Devaney, Elizabeth, Smith, Charles, Wong, Kenneth
Source: Afterschool Matters. Fall 2012 (16):1-10.
Availability: National Institute on Out-of-School Time. Wellesley Centers for Women, 106 Central Street, Wellesley, MA 02481. Tel: 781-283-2547; Fax: 781-283-3657; e-mail: niost@wellesley.edu; Web site: http://www.niost.org
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 10
Publication Date: 2012
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Research
Descriptors: Administrators, Educational Quality, Total Quality Management, After School Programs, Individual Development, Program Evaluation, Personnel Selection, Employees, Adolescents, Intervention
Geographic Terms: Rhode Island
Abstract: Over the past 10 years, afterschool and youth development programming has moved from providing childcare for working parents to being an integral component of the learning day, supporting the academic, social, and emotional development of young people. An important part of that transition has been a growing emphasis on improving program quality. Many communities around the country have begun to create site-level continuous improvement models. Aligned performance measures help program administrators evaluate the quality of young people's experience and give them a framework for improvement. The authors' study looks at how participation in a continuous quality improvement initiative produces higher-quality practice in Rhode Island's afterschool community by fostering change in program management practices. Among other findings, the authors discovered that quality improvement begins with program managers, who then lead the process of change. (Contains 1 figure and 1 note.)
Abstractor: ERIC
Number of References: 11
Entry Date: 2013
Accession Number: EJ992132
Database: ERIC
Description
Abstract:Over the past 10 years, afterschool and youth development programming has moved from providing childcare for working parents to being an integral component of the learning day, supporting the academic, social, and emotional development of young people. An important part of that transition has been a growing emphasis on improving program quality. Many communities around the country have begun to create site-level continuous improvement models. Aligned performance measures help program administrators evaluate the quality of young people's experience and give them a framework for improvement. The authors' study looks at how participation in a continuous quality improvement initiative produces higher-quality practice in Rhode Island's afterschool community by fostering change in program management practices. Among other findings, the authors discovered that quality improvement begins with program managers, who then lead the process of change. (Contains 1 figure and 1 note.)