Program Improvement
The Quality Adult Education Initiative is Tennessee’s approach to program improvement since 1999.
What is the Quality Adult Education Initiative?
The initiative is built upon the National Baldrige Performance Excellence Education Criteria and Framework through the Tennessee Center for Performance Excellence. The Baldrige model of performance improvement is a developmental journey. It is grounded in the principles, practices, and tools found in Quality Management, and Continuous Improvement performance improvement approaches, among others. The Baldrige is a business model adapted for education.
The Quality Adult Education initiative is a collaborative effort between the Division of Adult Education and local Tennessee county adult education programs. It started in 1997 at the local program level with Knox County Adult Literacy Program’s Baldrige-based work. [Described here in the Focus On Basics article: A Story of Improvement.]
Currently, the initiative’s progress includes participation by all local adult education programs, at various levels of implementation, lead by the Division of Adult Education’s Improvement work. Though the Division of Adult Education sets implementation targets and encourages participation by all programs, the initiative has operated as a voluntary initiative since its inception.
More information on the rationale behind pursuing this approach to program improvement can be found in U.S. Labor, Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development directives, and a comparison between the Baldrige Criteria and Framework and the Program Quality Indicators (PQI).
Key Strengths & Core Concepts that Support the Baldridge Core Concepts & Values
- Grassroots effort that bubbled up from the field and continues to be grounded in program-based improvement
- Commitment, support, and direction from the Division of Adult Education
- Common sense approach put into common practice to meet program needs and accountability requirements
- Sharing lessons learned and implementation practices to sustain growth and success
- “Keep it simple” developmental approach to understanding and implementation
- Field-based assistance and support by the program coordinator and Division of Adult Education Staff.
For more Information
Contact Marva Doremus at the Division of Adult Education, Dept. of Labor & Workforce Development