The After-School Program Collaboration Quality Index (CQI): Results of a Validation Study

Abstract

There has been a surge in the demand for the establishment of high-quality after-school programs (ASP) predicated on professional collaboration between in-school and after-school educators (OECD, 2014). In this validation study, we outline the psychometric properties of the Collaboration Quality Index (CQI) comprised of four predominant scales, using data collected from 44 Swiss ASPs and 266 ASP staff members. Internal and external validity findings, as well as bivariate correlations, indicated that the CQI is able to measure specific aspects of professional collaboration that are not accounted for with traditional and stand-alone measurement scales. ASP policy-makers and practitioners are encouraged to utilize the CQI to assess ASPs and use the results to make evidencedbased decisions for improvement.

Barriers to collaboration between school teachers and child care workers: implications for HRM and school leadership

“…Despite the relevance of IPC in child centres, Keuning et al (2022) concluded that IPC is still often short-term oriented, occurs on a small scale and is characterised by low levels of cohesion. Moreover, OSC occupies a vulnerable position within IPC, manifested by the fact that in many countries OSC receives little priority and faces low status (Cartmel, 2019;Hurst, 2020;Jutzi and Woodland, 2019). Yet, it is specifically between school and OSC that one would expect frequent IPC, given that children experience boundary crossing from school to OSC daily.…”