Abstract:

The quality of the educational environment should be a primary concern for educators and can be defined as a rich environment that promotes the physical, social, emotional, and cognitive development of children while also responding to the needs of families. The individuality and social interaction of children should be considered by educators to assure the quality of their practices. However, it is difficult to find universal criteria about what quality is because it is a constructed concept, subjective in nature, referring to values, beliefs, and interests, and is not an objective and universal reality. In this sense, several instruments have emerged in recent years to assist educators in assessing the quality of the educational environment. This qualitative study uses document analysis to characterize some of the most commonly used instruments in the context of early childhood education and primary education, namely:
(i) Classroom Assessment Scoring System - CLASS;
(ii) Effective Early Learning - DQP;
(iii) Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale - ECERS-R;
(iv) Infant/Toddler Environment Rating Scale-Revised Edition - ITERS-R;
(v) Program Quality Assessment - PQA;
(vi) Child Observation Record - COR; and
(vii) Marzano's Teacher Evaluation Model - Marzano Protocol.

The choice for the use of each of these instruments should be based on the specificities of the situations/contexts and the goals and intentions of educators and teachers, keeping in mind the child's development and environment quality. The main purpose of this article is to systematize information about these instruments, allowing the educator, teachers and researchers to make the best option for their situation and context. We believe that the use of these instruments promotes professional reflection and development, creating opportunities for substantial changes in the educator's or primary school teachers' practices.

Keywords:

Quality education, early childhood education, basic education, assessment tools, document analysis.