2nd ConferenceNational Authority

for Qualifications & Quality Assurance

of Education & Training

FEB 2013

© The views expressed in this presentation are those of the speaker’s, and not the NAQQAET          

FROM ‘SATISFACTORY’ TO ‘GOOD’ (OR, BETTER STILL, ‘OUTSTANDING’):IMPROVING VOCATIONAL EDUCATION AND TRAININGWorkshop to explore how providers may build on strengths and address areas of weakness in their quest for quality

Sue ParkerGEMS Education Solutions

AGENDA

2nd ConferenceNational Authority

for Qualifications & Quality Assurance

of Education & Training

FEB 2013

© The views expressed in this presentation are those of the speaker’s, and not the NAQQAET          

Background

Research on what makes VET provision ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’Lessons learnedDiscussion

Focus on:Learner achievement (inherently quality of provision)Leadership and managementOverall effectiveness

Measuring impact – why and how?

Next steps

– 3 –

2nd ConferenceNational Authority

for Qualifications & Quality Assurance

of Education & Training

FEB 2013

© The views expressed in this presentation are those of the speaker’s, and not the NAQQAET          

BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT Skills development is the acquisition of knowledge and skills or the world of work – practical competencies, know-how and attitudes necessary to perform a trade or occupation in the labour market (ie the outcome of the learning process)

TVET provides the source of skills acquisition

NAQQAET inspects the quality of that       TVET provision

In contrast, conventional academic study encompasses only part of what the labour market values and demands: vocational education can offer different content, different skills, different forms of teaching. Good vocational programmes are, therefore, respected, valuable and an important part of any country’s educational provision

– 4 –

2nd ConferenceNational Authority

for Qualifications & Quality Assurance

of Education & Training

FEB 2013

© The views expressed in this presentation are those of the speaker’s, and not the NAQQAET          

GOOD VET SYSTEMS ARE CHARACTERISED BY….

Clarity of purposeProgrammes linked to employers/occupationsDefined by learning outcomes ‘Assessed’ against competency (or ‘not yet competent’)Clear and successful pathways to employment and further learningObvious impact on economic or social developmentEngaging teaching and learning

VET is not:Focused just on ‘low level’ skillsDesigned purely for the less able/demotivatedAn excuse for poorly qualified or developed teachers or instructorsA dead-end into a low paid jobAn excuse for poorly designed qualifications and assessment

– 5 –

2nd ConferenceNational Authority

for Qualifications & Quality Assurance

of Education & Training

FEB 2013

© The views expressed in this presentation are those of the speaker’s, and not the NAQQAET          

WHY VET IS CHALLENGING TO MANAGE AND DELIVER

– 6 –

2nd ConferenceNational Authority

for Qualifications & Quality Assurance

of Education & Training

FEB 2013

© The views expressed in this presentation are those of the speaker’s, and not the NAQQAET          

IMPLICATIONS FOR QUALITY ASSURANCE IN BAHRAIN

– 7 –

2nd ConferenceNational Authority

for Qualifications & Quality Assurance

of Education & Training

FEB 2013

© The views expressed in this presentation are those of the speaker’s, and not the NAQQAET          

RESEARCH INTO ‘GOOD’ VETAttractive and inclusive• highly qualified teachers and trainers• innovative learning methods• high-quality infrastructure and facilities • high labour market relevance• pathways to further education and training

High quality initial VET (IVET) • enables learners to acquire specific vocational skills combined with key competences • enables learners, parents and society at large to recognise VET as an appealing option, of the same value as

general education• includes work based to give successful first step to the labour market• companies engaged as training providers, along with VET schools /training institutes

Easily accessible and career-oriented continuing VET to facilitate competence and career change• for all employees, employers independent entrepreneurs and the unemployed

Permeability between the different education and training subsystems (school education, VET, higher education, adult education)• caters for the validation of non-formal and informal learning• Includes competences acquired in the work place• opportunities for transnational mobility of VET students and VET professionals

Easily accessible and high-quality lifelong information, advice, guidance and counselling • unbiased and coherent • Networked within and between providers • enables citizens to take sound decisions • Enables everybody to manage their learning and professional careers beyond traditional gender roles

– 8 –

2nd ConferenceNational Authority

for Qualifications & Quality Assurance

of Education & Training

FEB 2013

© The views expressed in this presentation are those of the speaker’s, and not the NAQQAET          

THE CHALLENGE OF GOOD VET

– 9 –

2nd ConferenceNational Authority

for Qualifications & Quality Assurance

of Education & Training

FEB 2013

© The views expressed in this presentation are those of the speaker’s, and not the NAQQAET          

EVALUATING LEARNERS’ ACHIEVEMENT

– 10 –

2nd ConferenceNational Authority

for Qualifications & Quality Assurance

of Education & Training

FEB 2013

© The views expressed in this presentation are those of the speaker’s, and not the NAQQAET          

EVALUATING LEARNERS’ ACHIEVEMENT - MAKING A DIFFERENCE

– 11 –

2nd ConferenceNational Authority

for Qualifications & Quality Assurance

of Education & Training

FEB 2013

© The views expressed in this presentation are those of the speaker’s, and not the NAQQAET          

EVALUATING QUALITY OF PROVISION

– 12 –

2nd ConferenceNational Authority

for Qualifications & Quality Assurance

of Education & Training

FEB 2013

© The views expressed in this presentation are those of the speaker’s, and not the NAQQAET          

EVALUATING QUALITY OF PROVISION – MAKING A DIFFERENCE

– 13 –

2nd ConferenceNational Authority

for Qualifications & Quality Assurance

of Education & Training

FEB 2013

© The views expressed in this presentation are those of the speaker’s, and not the NAQQAET          

EVALUATING LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT

– 14 –

2nd ConferenceNational Authority

for Qualifications & Quality Assurance

of Education & Training

FEB 2013

© The views expressed in this presentation are those of the speaker’s, and not the NAQQAET          

EVALUATING LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT – MAKING A DIFFERENCE

– 15 –

2nd ConferenceNational Authority

for Qualifications & Quality Assurance

of Education & Training

FEB 2013

© The views expressed in this presentation are those of the speaker’s, and not the NAQQAET          

EVALUATING OVERALL EFFECTIVENESS

– 16 –

2nd ConferenceNational Authority

for Qualifications & Quality Assurance

of Education & Training

FEB 2013

© The views expressed in this presentation are those of the speaker’s, and not the NAQQAET          

EVALUATING OVERALL EFFECTIVENESS – MAKING A DIFFERENCE

– 17 –

2nd ConferenceNational Authority

for Qualifications & Quality Assurance

of Education & Training

FEB 2013

© The views expressed in this presentation are those of the speaker’s, and not the NAQQAET          

PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER

– 18 –

2nd ConferenceNational Authority

for Qualifications & Quality Assurance

of Education & Training

FEB 2013

© The views expressed in this presentation are those of the speaker’s, and not the NAQQAET          

WHAT CONSTITUTES OUTSTANDING?

– 19 –

2nd ConferenceNational Authority

for Qualifications & Quality Assurance

of Education & Training

FEB 2013

© The views expressed in this presentation are those of the speaker’s, and not the NAQQAET          

NOTABLE IN AN OUTSTANDING PROVIDER

This is an outstanding college. Capacity to improve is excellent, as has been demonstrated by the college’s record of sustained and very significant increases in success rates for all learners and in its highly successful actions to tackle areas for improvement from the last inspection. Inspectors found individual tutorial provision, a key area for improvement in 2007, to be a core strength in contributing to outstanding outcomes for learners, with excellent management of learners’ progress and target-setting. Learners feel very safe in the college as a result of excellent arrangements for safeguarding. The college equips learners very well for their future careers. Their practical skills are good and often outstanding. The emphasis the college places on developing learners’ employability skills is shown in employers’ reflections on the high standards of work and professional conduct they find in the learners they employ. 

The quality of provision is outstanding. Teaching and assessment are good.           Lessons are well planned and include a broad range of activities that keep          learners interested. Inspectors observed some outstanding lessons, showing           that there are very high standards in teaching and learning to be shared 

The Principal, staff and governors have shown great ambition for the college and its learners. Outstanding leadership and management, exemplified by rigorous quality assurance and self-assessment procedures, have driven up results and improved the quality of teaching and learning since the last inspection. Value for money is outstanding, as is evident from the college’s financial health and outstanding outcomes for learners. 

– 20 –

2nd ConferenceNational Authority

for Qualifications & Quality Assurance

of Education & Training

FEB 2013

© The views expressed in this presentation are those of the speaker’s, and not the NAQQAET          

DISTANCE TRAVELLEDDistance travelled refers to the progress that a beneficiary makes  towards greater employability (and subsequently harder outcomes  such as employment or qualifications success) as a result of a learning intervention. Measurement of distance travelled is , therefore, not  an exact science. 

While the acquisition of certain soft outcomes may seem insignificant for certain individuals, the leap forward in achieving these outcomes can be immense for others. 

Problems to avoid include:

Poor integration with other sources of information. Most soft outcome and indicator  tools              do not take into account skills gained during work experience, voluntary work, or other               activities. 

Attribution. It is difficult to attribute positive, soft outcomes (and thus, distance travelled               towards greater employability) solely based on the learning or training intervention. 

Subjectivity. There are significant issues concerning the ways in which learners are assessed for soft outcomes and distance travelled. Systems which rely on self-administered questionnaires can suffer from clients overstating or understating their achievements. Similarly, tutors’ personal bias and subjectivity can affect a system of tutor-based assessments. Practitioners may also be working to their own, different definition of the same outcome, for example, what may seen as ‘confidence’ by one tutor may be viewed as ‘aggressive’ by another.  Institutions (leaders and managers) should, therefore, state the criteria to be used and the indicators to measure them.

Language. Language used in soft outcome tools  must avoid being patronising or accusatory suggesting that there is something wrong if clients do not feel a certain way, or have certain characteristics. 

Different baselines. Although not a problem in itself, there are too many different client groups to devise one particular soft indicator system or model to fit all learners. The characteristics of individuals vary both within and  outside a given group and such individuality renders comparison both within and between groups impossible

– 21 –

2nd ConferenceNational Authority

for Qualifications & Quality Assurance

of Education & Training

FEB 2013

© The views expressed in this presentation are those of the speaker’s, and not the NAQQAET          

FOR A GIVEN GROUP OF LEARNERS – HOW WOULD YOU MEASURE THE DISTANCE TRAVELLED?For learners with previous limited learning – an example:

– 22 –

2nd ConferenceNational Authority

for Qualifications & Quality Assurance

of Education & Training

FEB 2013

© The views expressed in this presentation are those of the speaker’s, and not the NAQQAET          

USING THE INDICATORS

– 23 –

2nd ConferenceNational Authority

for Qualifications & Quality Assurance

of Education & Training

FEB 2013

© The views expressed in this presentation are those of the speaker’s, and not the NAQQAET          

SCENARIOS

• Leadership and management• Quality of provision• Distance travelled

– 24 –

2nd ConferenceNational Authority

for Qualifications & Quality Assurance

of Education & Training

FEB 2013

© The views expressed in this presentation are those of the speaker’s, and not the NAQQAET          

ASSESSING IMPACT

– 25 –

2nd ConferenceNational Authority

for Qualifications & Quality Assurance

of Education & Training

FEB 2013

© The views expressed in this presentation are those of the speaker’s, and not the NAQQAET          

MEASURING IMPACT - SUMMARY

– 26 –

2nd ConferenceNational Authority

for Qualifications & Quality Assurance

of Education & Training

FEB 2013

© The views expressed in this presentation are those of the speaker’s, and not the NAQQAET          

WHAT QUALITY INDICATORS COULD BE USED TO MEASURE IMPACT?

In the organisation in which you work, what SMART measures could be introduced to measure impact?

Who would need to be involved in their collection and analysis?

What would you do with the outputs from the analysis?

– 27 –

2nd ConferenceNational Authority

for Qualifications & Quality Assurance

of Education & Training

FEB 2013

© The views expressed in this presentation are those of the speaker’s, and not the NAQQAET          

THE DYNAMICS OF QUALITY: EXAMPLE OF INDICATORS FOR MEASURING IMPACT

– 28 –

2nd ConferenceNational Authority

for Qualifications & Quality Assurance

of Education & Training

FEB 2013

© The views expressed in this presentation are those of the speaker’s, and not the NAQQAET          

SUMMARY – FROM SATISFACTORY TO GOOD (OR OUTSTANDING) TEACHING AND LEARNING

– 29 –

2nd ConferenceNational Authority

for Qualifications & Quality Assurance

of Education & Training

FEB 2013

© The views expressed in this presentation are those of the speaker’s, and not the NAQQAET          

SUMMARY – FROM SATISFACTORY TO GOOD (OR OUTSTANDING) MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP

– 30 –

2nd ConferenceNational Authority

for Qualifications & Quality Assurance

of Education & Training

FEB 2013

© The views expressed in this presentation are those of the speaker’s, and not the NAQQAET          

MOVING FROM SATISFACTORY TO GOOD (AND EVEN OUTSTANDING)