1. www.qalll.eu Leonardo da Vinci project: REVIMP From review to improvement Bled, March 23rd/24 th 2011 Dr. Adrie Visscher Faculty of Behavioural Sciences The Netherlands

2. 1st QALLL Conference. Bled March 23rd/24 th 2011 www.qalll.eu Too often under-utilization of performance feedback like quality assurance data.

3. 1st QALLL Conference. VN NN. Bled March 24 th 2011 www.qalll.eu New valuable information is not enough. Social support, additional resources, and a strong motivation to improve are for example also important.

4. 1st QALLL Conference. VN NN. Bled March 24 th 2011 www.qalll.eu no dissemination of evaluation results among target group users do not understand or believe these no idea of how the results can be changed lacking skills, competences and resources controversial changes are difficult Obstruction of utilization:

5. 1st QALLL Conference. Bled March 23rd/24 th 2011 www.qalll.eu Identification potential Critical Success Factors (CSF’s): When is the review stage successful? 5 case studies per country (total: 30): England, Italy Germany, Estonia, Denmark, and the Netherlands Comparative analysis  tested guidelines Research approach

6. 1st QALLL Conference. Bled March 23rd/24 th 2011 www.qalll.eu Design process Design approach Design goal QA System Valid information Required staff effort Use QA System Conceptual use Instrumental use School organization features Pressure to improve Attitude towards QAS (Un)intended effects Quality concern Teaching quality Student performance Implement. process User training & support Extra resources A B E C F D

7. 1st QALLL Conference. Bled March 23rd/24 th 2011 www.qalll.eu improvement-orientation deliberate approach to data collection/ distribution: -balanced indicators (e.g. theory-practice; learner feedback, learner achievement) -timely and deliberate distribution QA results user participation monitoring implementation user training pressure to improve positive QAS-attitude Better review goes together with

8. 1st QALLL Conference. Bled March 23rd/24 th 2011 www.qalll.eu All guidelines in: Visscher, A.J. (Ed.) (2009). Improving Quality Assurance in European Vocational Education and Training. Dordrecht: Springer. 1.QA should be embedded in institutions’ general policy, and not just be an isolated activity. 2.Institutions should consider involving relevant stakeholders such as staff, employers and learners in the design/adaptation/choice of the QAS. Some examples of guidelines

9. 1st QALLL Conference. Bled March 23rd/24 th 2011 www.qalll.eu 3.Institutions should give full consideration to stakeholders’ information needs and whether or not the same amount and type of QA information should be distributed to all. 4.Where institutions are externally evaluated, e.g. through inspection, certification, or accreditation, they should consider to what extent it is useful to align with external indicators, and to what extent they need additional internal indicators for QA and improvement. 5.Institutions should consider setting themselves targets against each of the QA indicators. Some examples of guidelines (continued)

10. 1st QALLL Conference. Bled March 23rd/24 th 2011 www.qalll.eu 6.QA data should be presented in user-friendly formats that could include text, tables and graphs to facilitate understanding. 7.It is important that QA data are distributed promptly and regularly to relevant staff. 8.Institutions should minimise the burden of QA for staff and ensure that there is a clear division of tasks and responsibilities amongst staff. 9.As time and resources are limited, a step-by-step approach to implementation is recommended. 10.Institutions should systematically monitor whether the decisions on improvement activities are being carried out and how much impact they are having. Some examples of guidelines (continued)