The book serves as an introduction into pedagogical evaluation and is intended for (future) teachers of pre-primary, primary and secondary schools. The issue of pedagogical evaluation is introduced in the context of the quality of education. Pedagogical evaluation is presented as a research approach and as a tool for practitioners. Two forms of evaluation are discussed: internal evaluation and external evaluation. In the second part of the book, various evaluation instruments are presented.

The aim of this study is to examine the everyday life of day-care institutions and the culture of peer relationships that develop there. Interdisciplinary studies of childhood perceive it as a social construct separable from biological immaturity, and they describe a distinct toddler style of socialisation with peers. In this paradigm, participation in cultural routines is central to understanding child socialisation. Based on ethnographic observations in two facilities and interviews with teachers and parents, we explore relationships between peers, social routines, and the creation of collectivity. We focus on the perspective of adults and their perception of the children's collective and on the meanings of children's interactions. The analyses reveal that as well as socialising in hierarchical relationships with adults they also actively participate in cultural reproduction through the interpretation of meanings. What constitutes 'play' when socialising with adults becomes 'something real' when it occurs between physical and cognitive equals. Interaction with peers in a day-care facility allows a child to experience a collective 'WE', through which they are then able to to control adults. However, the creation of collectivity depends on their being conditions in place that are suitable for small children and toddlers.

The book summarizes the results of the project “Diversification of Preschool Education in the Czech Republic: Inclusion, Exclusion and Social Inequalities”. The research is based on group and individual interviews, mapping the context of preschool education and direct observations in preschools. It explores the links between social inequalities and the diversifying supply of preschool education, especially in connection to parental choices and strategies related to preschool selection. The book focuses on microprocesses of (re)constructing social differences that are grounded in the ethos of the facility, as well as in parents' perceptions of their children's temperaments and their understanding of childhood and children's needs in preschool age.

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Since the mid-2010s, Czech Republic has been implementing inclusive education measures on a wide scale. Five stages of supportive measures have been introduced, including the assignment of teaching assistants (TAs) for students with special educational needs. In the four years since the main reform, the assignment of TAs has become the most implemented supportive measure, even as their role in promoting inclusive education has been questioned in the scholarly literature. We base our findings on empirical research in primary schools and relevant policy documents. This paper focuses on the clashes between policy intentions and the practice of incorporating TAs into classrooms. We organise the findings into four categories of policy/practice conflicts: (1) ambiguous TA job descriptions; (2) insufficient TA qualifications; (3) combined TA contracts due to lack of funding; and (4) inconsistencies in TA appointments. Our findings suggest that, in practice, policy-regulated measures often do not correspond to the actual needs of schools.