Summary:
“Ways to more quality assurance in the vocational education?” by Ulrich Wiethaup
(Wege zu mehr Qualitätssicherung in der beruflichen Bildung? von Ulrich Wiethaup, Bundesarbeitsgemeinschaft Schulewirtschaft)
This article contains the bullet points of a speech kept by Ulrich Wiethaup to quality assurance. The following three aspects are hereby taken into consideration:
- The starting point
- Quality management is school development
- Steps to more quality(assurance)
The starting point
The core elements of recent reforms are listed: responsibility of control, staff, finances, education and quality. As reform goals are mentioned: quality improvement through more own responsibility and concentration due to the development of school enrolment.
The state and tendency of the quality discussions is summarized in the points:
missing qualification for vocational training, standards of education and central final exams, internal evaluation, goal-oriented control and an introduction of an external evaluation through Federal institutes, quality agencies and school inspection.
The question is asked: what does quality mean in the vocational school? It is summarized in the points: Quality fields: tuition, staff, organization/management, equipment/building, learning success/results, and cooperation. The goal is stated as: the best development, education and vocational qualification for the students.
Quality management is school development
School quality is a question of the management. Under QM are listed: organization development (a culture of feedback, planning and control of internal processes), development of the education (the build-up of the learning processes, education methods) and development of staff (further education and team building)
The following criteria are listed for the quality of education: a clear structure of the education, a high degree of real learning time, a climate that supports learning, clear contents, good communication, diversity of methods/problem solving, individual promotion, intelligent training, transparency of expectations, a reference to the profession and independent learning.
Steps to more quality (assurance)
As steps to more quality are seen: Each school needs quality management and the internal and external evaluation should be connected.
The following individual points are mentioned for the general education.
The schools should be given more independency, the quality management develped, the occupational orientation improved, more support for students, design of schools in a more learn promoting way, full-time education should be developed, quality considered more and regional quality alliances created.
Concerning the vocational schools/companies/chambers the author sees the following points as important: to strengthen the vocational schools and the cooperation between them and the companies, promotion of students, to develop social pedagogic support, to further develop auditing and develop the access to college and university for vocationally qualified.
According to the author the teaching staff should have a better teacher-training and a binding further education for teachers should exist, as well should the working place vocational school be kept more attractive.
