ABSTRACT:
The evaluation of the quality of Early Childhood Education constitutes a field of knowledge and practices that mobilize structural aspects into the area considering the competence of the different agents in the evaluation processes and their effects in the effectiveness of public policy. In the framework of an evaluation aligned with the promotion of quality and the recognition of Early Childhood Education as a public policy subordinate to social control, we propose to discuss the potentialities and tensions present in the mixed-method evaluation, a model that combines internal and external procedures and instruments inside and outside of institutions. The discussion starts from a mixed-method evaluation experience carried out in conjunction with the technical team of the Public Ministry of the State of São Paulo (MPSP), in the Special Education Group of Ribeirão Preto. The results indicate that the mixed evaluation was powerful because of its dialogic format: the external evaluation allowed a technical and multiprofessional look aligned with the public quality policy; the internal evaluation facilitated a collective self-reflection on quality but showed different strengths and weaknesses in terms of critical views. By combining these perspectives, possibilities are created for overcoming the limitations of each type of evaluation, and also for reflecting on the dynamics of relationships between individuals and public agencies.
Keywords:
mixed-method evaluation; early childhood education; quality; public policies