CAEP – main support line 2: Quality Assurance of Education and Training – outline of a study

1. CAEP – main support line 2: Quality Assurance of Education and Training –outline of a study Hans HOEKZEMA (Euformation), project expert Central Asian Education Platform “CAEP”, Astana, 22 – 23 February 2013.

2. What is Quality? • Any characteristic, or a (positive) value judgment? • When we consider quality as a value judgment, it can be a dichotomy (fail / pass), a gradual scale (less / some / more), or a combination of both (gradual scale with a minimum and a level for extra distinction). Notes: • Even scale: diverging & Uneven scale: converging • Absolute / Relative scores and Statistical Distribution

3. Quality of what? • Result-orientation; products and services • Process-orientation: input, throughput and output • Production factors: material, logistic organisation, human resources, plus finance and time-dimension • Scale-dimension: local / regional / national / international or individual / team / company / institutional cluster / system Notes: • Formative evaluation (enabling iterative adaptation) & Summative evaluation (enabling consecutive adaptation)

4. Quality Assurance “QA” • Policies and instruments for Quality Assurance usually focus on enhancing the transparency, predictability and replicability of (production) processes and the reliability and comparability of products (e.g. ISO) Notes: • “Ex ante” arrangements rather than “Ex post” control • Multiple variables are measured in conjunction • Objective and subjective value judgments • Results need contextual validation

5. European initiatives on Lifelong Learning • Lifelong Learning Programme (since 2007) with Comenius & Grundtvig programmes for General Education & Adult Education • Standardised Reports on Education and Training (national and comparative): Eurydice (since 1980), Eurypedia (since 2011) • Agenda Europa 2020 Growth Strategy (since 2010), preceded by Lisbon Strategy (2000-2010) and White Paper Delors (1993) • EU-directive on Recognition of Professional Qualifications (since 2005, with preceding general and sectoral directives since 1977) • European Qualifications Framework “EQF” (since 2008) • “Europass” (since 2004) with CV, Mobility Record, Diploma / Certificate Supplement, Language Portfolio and Network of Europass Centres “NEC”

6. European initiatives on Higher Education • Erasmus Programme (since 1987) • European Higher Education Area “EHEA” • Bologna-Declaration (1999), following up to “European Cultural Convention” of the Council of Europe (1954) • European Credit Transfer System “ECTS” (since 1989) • ENIC-NARIC network (since 1984 / 1999) • European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education “ENQA”

7. European initiatives on VET • Leonardo da Vinci programme (since 1995), preceded by programmes like Petra (1988-1995) • Copenhagen process (since 2002), with priorities for 2011-2020 • Comparability of VET (Cedefop since 1975) • European Credit System for VET “ECVET” (since 2009) • European Network of Reference Points on vocational qualifications “NRP” (since 2002) • European network for Quality Assurance in VET “EQAVET” with Quality Assurance Reference Framework for VET "EQARF“ (since 2009), preceded by ENQA-VET (2005-2009)

8. Higher Education and VET • Higher Education and Vocational Education and Training share a triple objective to their added value (enabling self-realisation, active citizenship, economic contribution). • Institutional settings and organisational structures differ, but both are increasingly oriented to customer satisfaction and stakeholder involvement. • Pedagogical characteristics differ, but both use theoretical instruction and practice learning to integrate knowledge, skills and competences as learning outcomes.

9. Quality Assurance in Education and Training • Activities involving planning, implementation, evaluation, reporting, and quality improvement, implemented to ensure that education and training (content of programmes, curricula, assessment and validation of learning outcomes, etc.) meet the quality requirements expected by stakeholders. Notes: • QA contributes to better matching of education and training supply and demand; • QA covers MACRO- (educational system), MESO- (individual educational institutions), MICRO-level (learning processes).

10. Outline of a study for CAEP • National Reports with a common elements like: • Key terminology (e.g. definitions in national legislation) • QA-elements in policies for Education and Training • Metrology and statistical data • Institutional self-evaluation and peer learning • Stakeholder involvement and customer satisfaction • International cooperation and benchmarking • Comparative Analysis with agenda for discussion by CAEP

11. Methodology and Work plan • Involve national experts on HE & VET in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan • Document-analysis (legislation, policies and reports) • Generate additional information: pre-structured interviews of key actors and overview of quantitative data • Consult results of international projects, incl. Torino-reports • National and international meetings aimed at peer learning evidence-based policy development Implementation: February till November 2013 (10 months)

12. Contact data: Mr Hans F. Hoekzema, director-owner EUFORMATION® international consultancy on the interface between Human Resource Development and the dynamic needs of the labour market and economic innovation E-mail address: info@euformation.com Website: www.euformation.com