Evaluation of the kindergarten quality rating system in Beijing

Research Findings: An effective quality rating system will lead to quality assurance and improvement of early childhood education programs. Many studies have been conducted to examine the validity of quality rating instruments in Western countries, but few have been done in China. The present study investigated the effectiveness of the Beijing Kindergarten Quality Rating System (BKQRS) by conducting onsite observations in 5 Demonstration, 5 R1C1, and 4 R2C2 kindergartens using the Chinese Kindergarten Environment Rating Scale (CKERS) as the criterion. Results indicated that none of the 3 types of kindergartens performed well on the CKERS. Although Demonstration and R1C1 kindergartens performed better than R2C2 kindergartens, there was no significant difference between Demonstration and R1C1 kindergartens. Results indicated that the BKQRS failed to gauge the quality levels of various kindergartens as accurately as was expected. Practice or Policy: Suggestions for improvement are discussed, and implications for other cultural contexts-such as insights for developing culturally appropriate quality assurance practices-are addressed. Copyright © 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.