Legal framework
The 2006 Teacher Training Decree11 set the basic rules for teacher training programmes’ external Quality Assurance. The methodology used was based on the assessment system for higher education, as described above, and thus on a self-evaluation, followed by an external assessment by peers. All programmes have to be assessed in one cluster and the report will be made public by the end of 2012.
The main difference in comparison to higher education is that the assessment isn’t followed by an accreditation procedure. The coordination of the external assessment has been assigned to the Quality Assurance unit of VLIR and VLHORA, later passed to VLUHR.
History
Although preparations for an external assessment of the teacher training at the Flemish universities started already in 2004, the external assessment itself has been postponed due to the thorough reform which was in preparation at that moment12. So, the planned external assessment will be the first external assessment focussing specifically on the quality of post-graduate teacher training programmes at the Flemish universities and at the university colleges. As the assessment framework is based on the one for higher education, central administrations and staff involved in other programmes at the involved higher education institutions, already have relevant experience in preparing the external assessment.
Until the new Teacher Training Decree came in place, post-graduate teacher training programmes offered by centres for adult education, were subject to inspection by the Flemish Government. Inspection was based on a Context Input Process Output-model (CIPO-model).
11 Decreet betreffende de lerarenopleidingen in Vlaanderen, December 15th, 2006
12 Decision of the VLIR Board, February 8th, 2005
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External quality assurance for post-graduate Teacher Training programmes
Legal framework
The 2006 Teacher Training Decree11 set the basic rules for teacher training programmes’ external Quality Assurance. The methodology used was based on the assessment system for higher education, as described above, and thus on a self-evaluation, followed by an external assessment by peers. All programmes have to be assessed in one cluster and the report will be made public by the end of 2012.
The main difference in comparison to higher education is that the assessment isn’t followed by an accreditation procedure. The coordination of the external assessment has been assigned to the Quality Assurance unit of VLIR and VLHORA, later passed to VLUHR.
History
Although preparations for an external assessment of the teacher training at the Flemish universities started already in 2004, the external assessment itself has been postponed due to the thorough reform which was in preparation at that moment12. So, the planned external assessment will be the first external assessment focussing specifically on the quality of post-graduate teacher training programmes at the Flemish universities and at the university colleges. As the assessment framework is based on the one for higher education, central administrations and staff involved in other programmes at the involved higher education institutions, already have relevant experience in preparing the external assessment.
Until the new Teacher Training Decree came in place, post-graduate teacher training programmes offered by centres for adult education, were subject to inspection by the Flemish Government. Inspection was based on a Context Input Process Output-model (CIPO-model).
11 Decreet betreffende de lerarenopleidingen in Vlaanderen, December 15th, 2006
12 Decision of the VLIR Board, February 8th, 2005
Each centre for adult education has been assessed at least once since 2000. So, these programmes have experience with external assessment, but change to a system of peer assessment, with a new assessment framework.
Common project
This assessment has been started as a common project of VLIR and VLHORA. In each organisation a project manager13 was assigned to this project and a Task Force has been formed which has the responsibility to execute the assessment of the teacher training programmes. Although VLIR and VLHORA have a common protocol and procedures for assessing higher education programmes since 2004, the implementation has often proved to be slightly different.
As a consequence, for this assessment, every step in the procedure has to be evaluated on how to design it best. It was decided to do this taking into account the specific characteristics of post-graduate teacher training programmes. Having to take conscious decisions on every step of the process, is very time consuming, but leads to carefully designed procedures and a process which should be even more fit for purpose than other assessments done by VLIR or gathered representatives of the teacher training programmes of all types of institutions and the Flemish Government. A working group of 15 representatives of the institutions15, a representative of the Flemish Government and the project managers of VLIR and VLHORA
13 Floris Lammens within VLHORA and Pieter-Jan Van de Velde within VLIR
14 European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education, Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area 2009, Helsinki, 3rd edition, http://www.enqa.eu/files/ESG_3edition%20%282%29.pdf
15 5 representatives from the universities, university colleges and centres for adult education respectively.
PART 1 NATIONAL POLICIES AND QUALITY ASSURANCE FRAMEWORKS
was established. This working group met several times in 2008 and 2009 to adapt the assessment framework and procedures which VLIR and VLHORA are using for higher education programmes.
Several meetings were needed to get to know each other better and to find a common vocabulary. Indeed universities and university colleges on the one hand and centres for adult education on the other hand have had for long a completely separate legal framework and did not work together that often until recently. So a certain time and number of meetings were needed to adapt the language used by VLIR and VLHORA to match it with the language used by centres for adult education. After this process, the protocol for external assessment of teacher training programmes (including an assessment framework and all relevant procedures) was approved by all parties involved (not only VLIR and VLHORA, but also the Steering Group Adult Education, who is representing the centres for adult education to the Flemish Government) in October 2009. In the end, the process has led to an assessment framework and procedures that are fit for purpose.
The adapted assessment framework envisages, as well as the original VLIR-VLHORA framework, to grasp every aspect of a study programme. It focuses not only on teaching staff and results but also on goals, content (the curriculum), facilities and internal quality assurance. The adapted framework consists of six themes covering eighteen aspects which will be evaluated by the assessment panels.
The themes and aspects are indicated in Table 1.
The main changes, in comparison to the framework for higher education programmes, are related to three issues. First, the aspect
‘aims and objectives’ has been changed because for the teacher training programmes these are based on the specific legal framework, which includes a detailed set of competences which a teacher should have, resulting in Aspect 1.1. Level and orientation of the programme and discipline-specific requirements. The descriptors of the Flemish qualification framework cannot be applied to the teacher training programmes under evaluation, because these have not been integrated yet in the qualification framework. Second, no Master’s thesis is required in teacher training programmes. The preparatory working group decided not to have separate aspects for 88
was established. This working group met several times in 2008 and 2009 to adapt the assessment framework and procedures which VLIR and VLHORA are using for higher education programmes.
Several meetings were needed to get to know each other better and to find a common vocabulary. Indeed universities and university colleges on the one hand and centres for adult education on the other hand have had for long a completely separate legal framework and did not work together that often until recently. So a certain time and number of meetings were needed to adapt the language used by VLIR and VLHORA to match it with the language used by centres for adult education. After this process, the protocol for external assessment of teacher training programmes (including an assessment framework and all relevant procedures) was approved by all parties involved (not only VLIR and VLHORA, but also the Steering Group Adult Education, who is representing the centres for adult education to the Flemish Government) in October 2009. In the end, the process has led to an assessment framework and procedures that are fit for purpose.
The adapted assessment framework envisages, as well as the original VLIR-VLHORA framework, to grasp every aspect of a study programme. It focuses not only on teaching staff and results but also on goals, content (the curriculum), facilities and internal quality assurance. The adapted framework consists of six themes covering eighteen aspects which will be evaluated by the assessment panels.
The themes and aspects are indicated in Table 1.
The main changes, in comparison to the framework for higher education programmes, are related to three issues. First, the aspect
‘aims and objectives’ has been changed because for the teacher training programmes these are based on the specific legal framework, which includes a detailed set of competences which a teacher should have, resulting in Aspect 1.1. Level and orientation of the programme and discipline-specific requirements. The descriptors of the Flemish qualification framework cannot be applied to the teacher training programmes under evaluation, because these have not been integrated yet in the qualification framework. Second, no Master’s thesis is required in teacher training programmes. The preparatory working group decided not to have separate aspects for
the practical component of the programme (pre- or in-service training), because this should be evaluated through the whole assessment framework and should not become isolated as one of the aspects. Third is the integration of the aspects ‘quality of staff’ and
‘academic and professional orientation of the staff’ in one aspect, as in teacher education didactic and pedagogic expertise are presumed to be both relevant for the way of teaching and the content of the programmes, resulting in Aspect 3.1. ‘Quality of staff’.
Table 1: Assessment framework16
Theme 1 Aims and objectives of the programme
Aspect 1.1. Level and orientation of the programme and discipline-specific requirements
Theme 2 Curriculum
Aspect 2.1. Correspondence between the aims and objectives, and the curriculum
Aspect 2.2. Requirements for professional and academic orientation Aspect 2.3. Consistency of the curriculum
Aspect 2.4. Size of the curriculum Aspect 2.5. Workload
Aspect 2.6. Coherence of structure and contents Aspect 2.7. Learning assessment
Aspect 5.3. Involvement of staff, students, alumni and the professional field Theme 6 Results
Aspect 6.1. Achieved learning outcome Aspect 6.2. Study progress
16 VLIR-VLHORA, Handleiding Onderwijsvisitatie Specifieke Lerarenopleiding, p.82, Brussels, October 2009,
http://www.vlir.be/media/docs/Lerarenopleiding/VLIR-VLHORAHandleidingSpecifiekeLerarenopleidingen-oktober2009.pdf
PART 1 NATIONAL POLICIES AND QUALITY ASSURANCE FRAMEWORKS
Further on, some wordings have been changed in the underlying evaluation criteria and in the clarification which is provided for the assessment criteria.