Quality
- The European committee
for the standardization agreed on the following definition in the
non-governmental and business fields, published as a European standard EN ISO
9000. “Quality is a degree to which a set of inherent characteristics fulfils
requirements. The term quality can be used with adjectives such as poor, good
or excellent.
-
Despite the large
number of reference and the growing body of literature about quality in
education (quality control, auditing, valorization, policies and public funding
provisions..) the concept of quality is still not very clearly and articulated.
With this background,
Harvey and Green (1993), have identified and analysed four different dimensions
of quality, which are, in our opinion, a substantial contribution for the
understanding of quality in non formal education.
The quality management cycle and youth work
Dr. William Edwards Derning (1900-1993), known as the father quality
management developed the so called P-D-C-A Cycle.
The quality management cycle
Every project is like a circle with four parts or phase:
·
Planning
·
Doing
·
Checking/Studying
· Acting
The Cycle Theory In Youth Work
·
Derning’s theory was a
starting point for developing different models of quality management system for
different fields (industry, public administration, the primary sector..)
·
In later adaptations,
the circle developed into a spiral to underline the ongoing characteristics of
a project. As we know every project has its own dynamic and there is never a
real beginning and never complete end, because the concrete end is often
already the first step into a “new”.
·
Quality Criteria:
characteristics chosen to define quality in coherence with the objectives of a
project. The assumption is that if a criterion is fulfilled, the quality is
good and if it is not fulfilled not so good or bad. Quality criteria are
relevant and valid.
An example of
quality criteria in youth work could be:
Involvement of Participants
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“Involvement of
participants” is a characteristic of an
educational project.
-
It is coherent with
the objectives of the project. Youth projects in general have as objectives the
promotion of active participation, engagement, co-responsibility and the use of
active methodologies.
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The assumption is that
if there is involvement of participants in good and if it there is no
involvement it is bad.
-
“involvement of
participants” is relevant and valid criterion.
¨ Quality Standard: these are conditions set to criteria. Standards are
often expressed as the highest or lowest
value or allowed range. They define the expected amount, the intensity and the
manner of the criteria.
An example of quality standard
in youth work for the quality criteria “involvement of participants” could be:
¨ Participants self-management and organise their projects and the free
time
-
“the self management
and organisation of their projects and free time” is a condition, an amount, a
manner of looking at the criteria “involvement of participants”
-
there are other criteria to evaluate the
involvement of participants but this standard (about their project and the free
time) what is expected.
• Quality indicators. Indicators are measures that indicate, if expected
quality described in the standard is achieved.
¨ Participants self-management and organise their projects and the free
time could be:
o
Number and kind of
projects
o
Project team
composition
o
Number and kind of
self-organized activities during the free time
o
Social committee’s way
of working
o
Sharing
responsibilities
¨ Example of quality criteria, standards and indicator
In addition to the example given defining quality criteria, standards
and indicators, let us imagine youth exchange project with the objective of
promoting mutual understanding and co-operation between participants…
• A quality criterion could be:
a communication
between the participants
• A quality standard could be:
communication in the
project happens:
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Between all participants of the project
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All through the
different phases of the project
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In the different
activities and moments of the day.
• Some quality indicators could be:
-
Interaction between
participants during the free time and informal time
-
Direct
communication/interaction of participants in the “working spaces”
-
Initiatives to
overcome communication
¨ Quality in youth: steps and
debates in the Europe institutions:
Quality in youth work at European level
What do we consider “good” or “bad” in our work in educational youth
projects? Establishing evaluation criteria is an essential and sensitive part
of the evaluation process of an educational activity.
The quality of non formal education and youth work is ingoing
discussion among researchers, trainers, and youth workers in Europe, which has
been stimulated by the council of Europe and by the European commission.
Quality is also relevance-with regard to life skills, cognitive
learning and understanding, living in groups and communities.
¨ European level initiatives on quality in the youth field
Both, the European Commission and the Council of Europe put a strong
emphasis on quality assurance and quality development in their policies and
activities.
q The long term training course
Advanced Trainers in Europe (ATTE) has been developed to meet the increasing
need for qualified trainers in this field and to enlarge and further develop
the European networks of trainers, who have the competence and the motivation
to develop and implement European level training activities in the youth field.
¨ Develop your own evaluation
Experienced evaluators agree that there are no “golden rules” for the
development of a perfect educational evaluation. We believe that the
definitions, models and questions explored in this “theoretical” part of the
T-Kit (“Ingredients of Educational Evaluation”) can help a lot but they cannot
guarantee an evaluation process free of resistance and mishaps.
Who
and for whom? The actors of educational evaluation
Having reviewed the possible definitions aims,
operational objective and fields, it is not difficult to identify the actors of
educational evaluation. The questions “who” and “for whom” are deliberately
formulated together because everybody involved in the educational process
should participate in its evaluation and should be informed about its results
as follows:
The participants: as learners and the target group
of the activity.
The Facilitator: leaders or team members,
responsible persons for animating the activity.
The organizers and the partners: as promoters of
the activity.
The funders: as supporters of the activity.
The decision-makers: as those “responsible” for
considering the results of the evaluation in further decision making process.
When
to evaluate? The timing of educational evaluation
Evaluation is an ongoing and continuous process!
However, “when” we evaluate is also an important decision to make in the
planning of the evaluation process.
Main types of evaluation:
1. Initial evaluation – is the evaluation done at very
beginning.
2. Mid-term evaluation – is our chance to check how
things are going.
3. Final evaluation – using a variety of methods, the
participants and the team evaluate the whole project in the light of the
outcomes.
Typologies
of evaluation
We
have seen in the previous section different types of evaluation according to
their timing.
Personal/Interpersonal/Group
Personal
evaluation – is the kind of evaluation in which each individual or actor
involved in the educational process.
Interpersonal
evaluation – happens when more than one individual actor involved in the
educational process.
Quantitative/Qualitative Evaluation:
Quantitative
evaluation – focuses on the quantity of experience.
Qualitative
evaluation – relates to the quality of the program and of the experiences.
REFLECTION
Evaluation is not just a testing teaching, programme or an administrative
technique. It is not something to be resorted to at the close of the
school term as a culminating activity, nor it should be viewed as an end
activity to be done in every school
Teaching is not just enough to ensure that every individual learn and no one is left behind. Evaluation of the learnings must be done to ensure that students are on the right pace. we can't deny the fact that, in every teaching instruction there are students who cannot cope with the lessons being taught. To identify the deficiencies of the students, evaluation can really help the teachers in giving the right remedy towards it.
