Paper Title
The Level Of Quality Management Practices Using A Qias Model: A Comparative Study Between Private And Government Childcare Centers

Abstract
Management is needed in every effective group to attain the desired goals with the least expenditure of time, energy and money. One approach to management of early childcare centre that has gained increasing popularity is total quality management (TQM). Thus, the Quality Improvements and Accreditation System (QIAS) instrument was used for this purpose. This is reflected in the seven (7) proportion quality areas in the QIAS, which are; staff relationships with children and peers; partnerships with families; programming and evaluation; children�s experiences and learning; protective care and safety; health, nutrition and wellbeing; and managing to support quality. The objective of this paper is to disseminate findings and share best practices of early childcare operators, providers, principals, and teachers that handled children from birth to 6 years. It aimed to identify the level of quality management practices in childcare centers in Malaysia.Data collected through the questionnaire depict a slightly different picture which is Private TASKA/TADIKA (M=3.31) was found to score the lowest in all seven quality areas compared to Government TASKA/TADIKA (M=3.32). As a conclusion, this QIAS instrument is able to serve as a guidelines to the childcare center on what is needed and required to be look into and take into consideration in order to ensure the quality of childcare centers. Keywords - Quality Improvements and Accreditation System (QIAS), Accreditation System, Childcare Center.