How is the progress of schools supported by external and internal evaluation?

SICI workshop on external and internal evaluation was held in Tallinn, Estonia on March 7-9, 2012. The aim of the workshop was to discuss how the external and internal evaluation can support the progress of the educational institutions.

SICI workshop on external and internal evaluation was held in Tallinn, Estonia on March 7-9, 2012. The aim of the workshop was to discuss how the external and internal evaluation can support the progress of the educational institutions.
 
During the first day of the workshop, an overview of the external and internal evaluation was given from the point of view of different countries. Kadri Peterson (1), the Head of External Evaluation Department of Estonian Ministry of Education and Research, introduced Estonian education system, different evaluation activities exercised in Estonia and emphasized the importance of internal evaluation in educational institutions. Margus Kärner (2), the Expert of the Ministry of Education and Research, presented Estonian Education Information System as a benchmarking source for the ministry and local governments as well as for the schools and the students. The presentations given in the second part of the first day introduced the external and internal evaluation and their role in other countries. Janie McManus (3), HM Inspector of Education from Scotland, brought out the combination of internal and external evaluation as key to the improvement of the quality of education with emphasis on self-evaluation supported and challenged by local and national authorities. The experience of Slovakia presented by Zuzana Lukačková (4) (SSI State School Inspection) taught the school policy’s dependence on the political circumstances and underlined the involvement of the partners both inside and outside the school when aiming for more successful results. Helder Lopo Guerreiro (5), Inspector Principal from Portugal, ended the first day by presenting some misleading assumptions on school evaluation with conclusions made about the importance of good programs, planning and implementers in more effective school organization.

The second day started with visiting four schools in Tallinn to hear how the schools evaluate their own effectiveness. SICI workshop participants visited Tallinn Secondary Science School, Tallinn English College, Gustav Adolf Gymnasium and Old Town Educational College. The headmasters introduced the schools and talked about the self-evaluation and data gathering systems of the schools. Impressions got from the schools were shared and discussed later in group work. It was pointed out that all four schools have great history and traditions combined with modern methods of schooling. A conclusion was made according to which the self-evaluation is strongly related to the autonomy of the school. When discussing data gathering of the schools, the problem of relevant usage of the data was raised in group discussions. The positive and negative sides of thematic supervision exercised in Estonia and its value for the schools was also discussed by the participants of the workshop. It was concluded that the values and the mission of the school as well as the balance with external evaluation is what supports the self-evaluation of the schools. Maie Kitsing (6), the Adviser of the External Evaluation Department of the Ministry of Education and Research, completed the group work discussions by presenting what Estonia has learned from PISA surveys and pointing out the possible areas of improvement.

The third day of the workshop focused on the evaluation of the educational institutions at three different levels – state (the ministry), local (county/city) and school level. Maie Kitsing (7) and Ulvi Soomlais (8) from Estonian Ministry of Education and Research gave an overview of state supervision and its aims in Estonia, explained the main ideas of compulsory self-evaluation and the usage of the internal evaluation results. Meelis Kond (9) from Tallinn Education Department, who represented the local level, explained how the internal evaluation of the schools is supported by the local authorities with an example of quality awards for the schools, teachers, school projects, and the evaluation of the work of the school heads. The school level and its viewpoints were presented by Toomas Kruusimägi (10), the head of Tallinn English College, who brought out different areas where schools can use the results of internal and external evaluation, including the values and ethos of the school, development plans, leadership and management, curriculum design, benchmarking with other schools, etc.

The three days of SICI workshop in Tallinn provided many thought-provoking presentations and discussions. The underlining conclusions of the workshop were related to the role of the school with the learner as the central element of school organization and management.  The support of the external and internal evaluation is needed for creating the learner-friendly environment and ensuring the quality of teachers’ work, which create the ground for the development of successful pupils.

Based on positive feedback given to the organizers from the participants, it can be concluded that the workshop fulfilled its purpose – to share ideas and experiences on the external and internal evaluation.