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Thematic Research Report series

Thematic Research Reports

241 complete publications covering the years 2005 to 2026.

Showing 10 of 58 results

241 publications in this series

ICEQC-R-2008-03

Thematic Research Report

Inclusive Education after the Entry into Force of the Disability Rights Convention

A global standards interpretation of Article 24, equal participation and the duties of education authorities and institutions

The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities entered into force on 3 May 2008. Nine days later, its education provisions require immediate institutional attention. Article 24 does not merely restate a general aspiration to educate persons with disabilities. Read with the Convention’s principles, definitions and general obligations, it establishes an inclusive education system at all levels and lifelong learning, prohibits exclusion from the general education system on the basis of disability, requires access on an equal basis in the communities in which people live, and joins reasonable accommodation with support directed towards effective education. For disability inclusion, the executive summary evidence must show whether ordinary provision secures accessibility, reasonable support and equal participation. Equal participation requires the relevant duty, barrier, support and remedy to remain visible in this analysis.

Research category
Standards Interpretation
Report archetype
Standards Interpretive Study
Geographic scope
Global
ICEQC-R-2007-05

Thematic Research Report

Minimum Quality Conditions for Early Learning Environments

A global standards-interpretive study of the conditions necessary for safe, inclusive, developmentally appropriate and publicly accountable early learning

An early learning environment cannot be judged adequate merely because a service is open, children are enrolled or required records exist. The minimum question is whether each child encounters conditions that protect life, health and dignity; permit equitable presence and participation; support learning through responsive relationships and purposeful activity; and place responsibility for correction on a body able to act. These conditions are cumulative. A pleasant room cannot compensate for violence, exclusion or an unprepared workforce. A sound curriculum cannot compensate for inaccessible provision. Administrative compliance cannot substitute for children’s actual experience.

Research category
Standards Interpretation
Report archetype
Standards Interpretive Study
Geographic scope
Global
ICEQC-R-2007-04

Thematic Research Report

Public Reporting of Institutional Quality: Materiality and Proportionality

A global standards-interpretive study of relevant disclosure, contextual evidence, fair comparison and public accountability

Public reporting is one means by which an education institution explains its purposes, conditions, performance and use of entrusted resources. It can help learners make choices, governing bodies discharge responsibility, public authorities identify risks and communities understand whether provision serves them fairly. Yet disclosure does not become useful merely by becoming extensive. A long catalogue of unconnected facts may conceal more than it reveals, while a short set of favourable measures may give an unduly settled account of quality. The interpretive problem is therefore to determine which information is material, how much detail is proportionate and what context is necessary for an honest reading.

Research category
Standards Interpretation
Report archetype
Standards Interpretive Study
Geographic scope
Global
ICEQC-R-2007-02

Thematic Research Report

Transparent Recognition Decisions: Evidence, Consistency and the Interests of Learners

A global standards-interpretive study of qualification assessment, substantial difference, procedural fairness, mobility and accountable decision records

Recognition determines whether prior education can be used for further study, professional preparation, employment or another legitimate purpose. The decision affects time, cost, mobility and the learner’s ability to continue an educational pathway. It should therefore be based on relevant evidence, consistent standards and a procedure that can be understood and challenged.

Research category
Standards Interpretation
Report archetype
Standards Interpretive Study
Geographic scope
Global
ICEQC-R-2006-13

Thematic Research Report

Interpreting Educational Accessibility under the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

A global standards-interpretive study of non-discrimination, inclusion, reasonable accommodation and equal educational participation

On 13 December 2006, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and its Optional Protocol. As at 27 December 2006, the Convention has not yet opened for signature and is not in force. Its adopted text nevertheless provides a clear international standard for examining disability, equality, accessibility and inclusive education.

Research category
Standards Interpretation
Report archetype
Standards Interpretive Study
Geographic scope
Global
ICEQC-R-2006-08

Thematic Research Report

Reasonable Accommodation in Education: Standards, Documentation and Review

A global interpretive study of individual adjustment, inclusive education, evidence, proportionality and accountable decisions

Equal access to education cannot be secured only through rules written for an assumed average learner. A school, college or education authority may apply the same timetable, admission method, communication form, assessment condition or physical arrangement to everyone and still exclude a learner whose participation requires an individual change. Reasonable accommodation provides a disciplined way to examine that requirement.

Research category
Standards Interpretation
Report archetype
Standards Interpretive Study
Geographic scope
Global
ICEQC-R-2006-01

Thematic Research Report

Evidence Requirements for the Recognition of Learning across Jurisdictions

A standards-interpretive study of qualification identity, authenticity, level, learning outcomes, substantial difference and fair recognition decisions

Recognition is a reasoned public or institutional decision about learning acquired under another jurisdiction, institution, programme or route. It permits a person to enter further education, receive credit, use a qualification for employment or present prior achievement for another defined purpose. The decision can widen mobility and reduce unnecessary repetition. If made without reliable evidence, it can also mislead learners, weaken the integrity of a receiving programme or impose an arbitrary barrier on persons whose education differs in form rather than substance.

Research category
Standards Interpretation
Report archetype
Standards Interpretive Study
Geographic scope
Global
ICEQC-R-2005-10

Thematic Research Report

Literacy as a System Quality Standard: Scope, Evidence and Reporting Requirements

An interpretive study of public obligations, literacy constructs, assessment evidence and accountable national reporting

Literacy is both an outcome of education and a continuing capability through which children, young people and adults participate in learning, work, family and civic life. The Dakar Framework makes literacy an explicit international commitment, including a 50 per cent improvement in adult literacy levels by 2015, especially for women, and equitable access to basic and continuing education for all adults. The United Nations Literacy Decade places literacy within Education for All and calls for policy, capacity, participation, resources, research and monitoring.

Research category
Standards Interpretation
Report archetype
Standards Interpretive Study
Geographic scope
Global
ICEQC-R-2005-09

Thematic Research Report

Qualifications Frameworks and Learning Outcomes following the Bergen Ministerial Conference

An interpretive study of cycles, descriptors, credits, recognition and the public meaning of higher education qualifications

The Bergen Ministerial Conference of May 2005 marks a significant development in the construction of the European Higher Education Area. Ministers adopted an overarching framework for qualifications comprising three cycles, with provision for a short cycle within or linked to the first cycle, generic descriptors for the outcomes expected at the completion of each cycle, and typical credit ranges for the first two cycles. They committed themselves to developing national frameworks compatible with that overarching structure and to beginning implementation within a stated policy timetable.

Research category
Standards Interpretation
Report archetype
Standards Interpretive Study
Geographic scope
European Higher Education Area
ICEQC-R-2005-06

Thematic Research Report

Defining Minimum Evidence for Educational Quality in Expanding Systems

An interpretive framework for demonstrating access, educational provision, equity and learning while participation grows

Rapid expansion of education is a public achievement only when new participation becomes sustained access to an educational service of acceptable quality. Enrolment records can show that places were taken. They cannot show, without additional evidence, that schools opened, teachers were available, required instruction occurred, learners remained, exclusion was reduced or learning improved. The interpretive problem addressed in this report is therefore precise: what is the minimum evidence needed before a system can make a defined claim about educational quality while participation expands?

Research category
Standards Interpretation
Report archetype
Standards Interpretive Study
Geographic scope
Global