Quality
- The European committee for the standardization agreed on the following definition in the non-governmental and business fields, published as a European standard EN ISO 9000. “Quality is a degree to which a set of inherent characteristics fulfils requirements. The term quality can be used with adjectives such as poor, good or excellent.
- Despite the large number of reference and the growing body of literature about quality in education (quality control, auditing, valorization, policies and public funding provisions..) the concept of quality is still not very clearly and articulated.
With this background, Harvey and Green (1993), have identified and analysed four different dimensions of quality, which are, in our opinion, a substantial contribution for the understanding of quality in non formal education.
The quality management cycle and youth work
Dr. William Edwards Derning (1900-1993), known as the father quality management developed the so called P-D-C-A Cycle.
The quality management cycle
Every project is like a circle with four parts or phase:
· Planning
· Doing
· Checking/Studying
· Acting
The Cycle Theory In Youth Work
· Derning’s theory was a starting point for developing different models of quality management system for different fields (industry, public administration, the primary sector..)
· In later adaptations, the circle developed into a spiral to underline the ongoing characteristics of a project. As we know every project has its own dynamic and there is never a real beginning and never complete end, because the concrete end is often already the first step into a “new”.
·
Quality Criteria: characteristics chosen to define quality in coherence with the objectives of a project. The assumption is that if a criterion is fulfilled, the quality is good and if it is not fulfilled not so good or bad. Quality criteria are relevant and valid.
An example of quality criteria in youth work could be:
Involvement of Participants
- “Involvement of participants” is a characteristic of an educational project.
- It is coherent with the objectives of the project. Youth projects in general have as objectives the promotion of active participation, engagement, co-responsibility and the use of active methodologies.
- The assumption is that if there is involvement of participants in good and if it there is no involvement it is bad.
- “involvement of participants” is relevant and valid criterion.
¨ Quality Standard: these are conditions set to criteria. Standards are often expressed as the highest or lowest value or allowed range. They define the expected amount, the intensity and the manner of the criteria.
An example of quality standard in youth work for the quality criteria “involvement of participants” could be:
¨ Participants self-management and organise their projects and the free time
- “the self management and organisation of their projects and free time” is a condition, an amount, a manner of looking at the criteria “involvement of participants”
- there are other criteria to evaluate the involvement of participants but this standard (about their project and the free time) what is expected.
• Quality indicators. Indicators are measures that indicate, if expected quality described in the standard is achieved.
¨ Participants self-management and organise their projects and the free time could be:
o Number and kind of projects
o Project team composition
o Number and kind of self-organized activities during the free time
o Social committee’s way of working
o Sharing responsibilities
¨ Example of quality criteria, standards and indicator
In addition to the example given defining quality criteria, standards and indicators, let us imagine youth exchange project with the objective of promoting mutual understanding and co-operation between participants…
- • A quality criterion could be:
- a communication between the participants
- • A quality standard could be:
- communication in the project happens:
- - Between all participants of the project
- - All through the different phases of the project
- - In the different activities and moments of the day.
- Some quality indicators could be:
- - Interaction between participants during the free time and informal time
- - Direct communication/interaction of participants in the “working spaces”
- - Initiatives to overcome communication
¨ Quality in youth: steps and debates in the Europe institutions:
Quality in youth work at European level
What do we consider “good” or “bad” in our work in educational youth projects? Establishing evaluation criteria is an essential and sensitive part of the evaluation process of an educational activity.
The quality of non formal education and youth work is ingoing discussion among researchers, trainers, and youth workers in Europe, which has been stimulated by the council of Europe and by the European commission.
Quality is also relevance-with regard to life skills, cognitive learning and understanding, living in groups and communities.
¨ European level initiatives on quality in the youth field
Both, the European Commission and the Council of Europe put a strong emphasis on quality assurance and quality development in their policies and activities.
q The long term training course Advanced Trainers in Europe (ATTE) has been developed to meet the increasing need for qualified trainers in this field and to enlarge and further develop the European networks of trainers, who have the competence and the motivation to develop and implement European level training activities in the youth field.
¨ Develop your own evaluation
Experienced evaluators agree that there are no “golden rules” for the development of a perfect educational evaluation. We believe that the definitions, models and questions explored in this “theoretical” part of the T-Kit (“Ingredients of Educational Evaluation”) can help a lot but they cannot guarantee an evaluation process free of resistance and mishaps.
Who and for whom? The actors of educational evaluation
Having reviewed the possible definitions aims, operational objective and fields, it is not difficult to identify the actors of educational evaluation. The questions “who” and “for whom” are deliberately formulated together because everybody involved in the educational process should participate in its evaluation and should be informed about its results as follows:
- The participants: as learners and the target group of the activity.
- The Facilitator: leaders or team members, responsible persons for animating the activity.
- The organizers and the partners: as promoters of the activity.
- The funders: as supporters of the activity.
- The decision-makers: as those “responsible” for considering the results of the evaluation in further decision making process.
When to evaluate? The timing of educational evaluation
Evaluation is an ongoing and continuous process! However, “when” we evaluate is also an important decision to make in the planning of the evaluation process.
Main types of evaluation:
1. Initial evaluation – is the evaluation done at very beginning.
2. Mid-term evaluation – is our chance to check how things are going.
3. Final evaluation – using a variety of methods, the participants and the team evaluate the whole project in the light of the outcomes.
Typologies of evaluation
We have seen in the previous section different types of evaluation according to their timing.
Personal/Interpersonal/Group
Personal evaluation – is the kind of evaluation in which each individual or actor involved in the educational process.
Interpersonal evaluation – happens when more than one individual actor involved in the educational process.
Quantitative/Qualitative Evaluation:
Quantitative evaluation – focuses on the quantity of experience.
Qualitative evaluation – relates to the quality of the program and of the experiences.
