School Evaluation in Bulgaria – Sharing Good Practice and Ideas Lachezar Afrikanov Chisinau, 29-30 October 2015

Main points: Bulgaria and its education system Main characteristics of school evaluation Future developments and tools

Bulgaria - Overview Established in 681 AD *Parliamentary republic *Orthodox Christians *Information technologies, Tourism

Roses from the valley of Thracian kings

Panorama view of the capital city Sofia

Education System - Overview Principles: Education for All, Responsible Citizenship in a Democratic Society Popular issues: Motivation for learning; Teachers; Relevance; Content update (learning outcomes); Attractive methods; Schools as community centres; Entrepreneurship; Dual Education, Decentralisation Funding: 3,8% of GDP (2014) and European funds Educational attainment (2014): 27% with higher education, 54.1% with upper secondary education, 18,9% with basic or lower secondary.

Education System - Overview 1991 kindergartens (2014/2015) 2087 general education schools 481 VET and Art schools/colleges 54 higher education institutions

Challenges *The Business demands highly motivated, adaptable and professional workforce. *Many young people chose to enroll in an university abroad and/or work abroad. *Young teachers don’t enter or stay long in the profession. The rest of the teachers are expected to retire in the next 10 years period.

School Evaluation – Policy Priorities European (EU) framework and context: *Enhancing quality of education to restore long-term economic growth and job creation in Europe. *Education systems are becoming more decentralized and require schools and other service providers, such as youth services, to collaborate in improving education and in providing inclusive education. International congress on TVET, Shanghai, People’s Repiblic of China, may 2012

School Evaluation – Traditional Structure MES 28 Regional Inspectorates MES – Ministry of Education and Science REI – Regional Inspectorate of Education

School Evaluation – Process EXTERNAL EVALUATION * Each inspectorate conducts wholesale, thematic and running checks of schools in its scope. * If faults are found an order of mandatory prescriptions is issued, with due measures and deadlines. * If the mandatory actions have not been completed by the school director, a procedure of disciplinary action in accordance with the Labour Code is initiated. International congress on TVET, Shanghai, People’s Repiblic of China, may 2012

School Evaluation – Future (1) A new School Education Act (from 01.08.2016)! *Establishment of a national inspectorate under the auspices of the Council of Ministers. 1. develop, endorse, and improve inspection criteria and indicators; 2. conduct school inspection; 3. provide the Minister of Education and Science with an analysis on the quality of inspected schools. INTERNAL (SELF) EVALUATION

School Evaluation – Future (2) Schools as community centres *All leading NGOs has initiated a national pilot project (involving 13 schools out of 167) to demonstrate the benefits of opening up schools to their environments. *Key factor of success is self-evaluation according to a set of criteria (e.g., Leadership, Lifelong Learning, Parents involvement…) and close cooperation with all stakeholders.

Good Tool for Innovations (1) Human-centred design A process that starts with the people and ends with new solutions that are tailor made to suit their needs. It is about building a deep empathy with the people you’re designing for; generating tons of ideas; building a set of prototypes; sharing what you’ve made with the people you’re designing for; and eventually putting your innovative new solution out in the world…

Good Tool for Innovations (2) Human-centred design Inspiration Phase - learn directly from the people you’re designing for. Ideation Phase - make sense of what you learned, identify opportunities for design, and prototype possible solutions. Implementation Phase - bring your solution to life, and eventually, to market.

Thank you for your attention! lafrikanov@gmail.com

WORK IN GROUPS

Some Key Questions: How do you imagine the future of school evaluation in Moldova? How do you imagine development of REAL indicators for reporting REAL quality in schools? Currently, indicators used to provide basis for risk-based inspections do not show correct picture. How do you imagine the process of assessing school directors and teachers? What should be the cooperation between local departments of education and National School Inspectorate?