General Education Quality Assurance

1. QA supporting General Education,
Case Finland
Riikka Kuusisto-Kajander
NSF Turku 2016
12th May 2016 Turku, Finland

2. • M.Ed., University of Helsinki, Postgraduate in QA
• Experties:
• QA, Assessment and Evaluation
• 21st C skills (spec. Entrepreunial, Problem solving skills & Innovation)
• Teaching and Learning methods promoting Student Agency
• Producer of Teaching materials, Author
• Project Manager, Senior Expert
• University Lecturer, Teacher Trainer
• Current position: Evaluation Expert, Impact Evaluation,
Transnational Educational Services in UTU, Oman
Who am I?

3. Quality is often described as…
• High performance and quality
• Good management of processes
• Long experience, experties
• Fluency
• High capability
• High mastery of work
• Good leadership and management
• Security

4. http://www.oph.fi/english/education_development/quality_assurance_and_evaluation
What is quality in General Education?
efficiency, excellence, equality
Steering
Proficiency No inspections
Legislation
Recommen-
dations

5. http://www.minedu.fi/export/sites/default/OPM/Julkaisut/2012/liitteet/okm29.pdf?lang=fi

6. 1) Leadership and management
2) Personnel
3) Economic resources Structure
4) Assessment and evaluation
5) Implementation of the Curriula
6) Teaching and arrengements
7) Support in education and satisfactory
8) Student participation and agency Action
9) School and home
10) Physical learning environment
11) Safety of learning environment 2009
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
12) Before and after school activities 2012
13) School Club activities
Quality criteria for Basic education
13 quality cards

7. QA process in local education
school
school
school
school
1. INITIATIVE 2. ASSESSMENT
3. DATA COLLECTION4. ANALYSIS, DEVELOPMENT AREAS
Local
education
committee
Head of the
department+
administration
administration
Education
provider
Kuusisto 2012

8. QA results:
strengths
and
weakesses
QA results:
strengths
and
weaknesses
QA results:
strengths
and
weaknesses
QA process
Defining
development
areas
Defining
development
areas
Administration:
-Introducing
legislation, guidance
and functionality
Schools:
-Where we are good
at and what to
improve
-Work well being
-School satisfaction
What is the quality standard we wish to aim?

9. Quality in everyday life in schools goes
hand in hand with management
u Define your objectives
u What are your expected results?
u Make a schedule
u Who is respondant?
u Plan and implement the assessment
u Evaluate results and progress
Communicate, communicate!

10. Do we master the same
assessment language?

11. Our work is high quality,
isn´t it?
u How is your quality validated?
u What are you really measuring, statistics?
u Is current monitoring sufficient?
u What are the results addressed at?
u What is your status with the entity?
u How to validate your processes to be fluent?
u How do you support customer participation?
u Is the personnel developing actively?
Vuorinen 2009

12. Needs and possibilities in implementing
QA in education
• Investigating Curriculum reform impelementation to stregthen student
agency, and executing 21st C skills in teaching
• Assessing learning outcomes (results) and school satisfaction
• Strengthening teachers´ cabability in achieving objectives by self-
assesment
• Expanding teachers´ tool pack on assessment
• Expanding teachers´ tool pack on teaching methods and how to
succeed in choosing to different student cohorts
• Assessing school´s achievements yearly in order to support
communication and year planning

13. On your opinion,
What are the 3 most important themes in
schools to promote quality?
• Share in small goups
• 5 minutes

14. Homework!
Ø According to conversation,
You have selected 3 themes, that on Your
opinion, need more focus at school
Ø Produce a plan and make it happen!
Ø Share Your QA plan to
riikka.kuusisto-kajander@utu.fi
Monitoring
Self-Assess
Peer
Assessment

15. Thank You!
Riikka Kuusisto-Kajander
Evaluation Expert, Impact Evaluation
Department of Education
University of Turku, Finland
Tel. +358 50 468 4329
riikka.kuusisto-kajander@utu.fi
Follow me: blogit.utu.fi/utuexports