Project financed under Phare EUROPEAN UNION QUALITY EXTERNAL MONITORING IN THE SCHOOL YEAR 2007 – 2008 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS Material produced under Phare 2006 financial support Phare TVET RO 2006/ MERI/ NCDTVET-PIU

EXTERNAL QUALITY ASSURANCE PROCESSES Processes coordinated by the school inspectorates: - quality external monitoring visits - inspections for the validation of the self-assessment process report Processes coordinated by ARACIP: - temporary operation authorization - accreditation - regular external quality assessment Project financed under Phare EUROPEAN UNION MERI/ NCDTVET-PIU Material produced under Phare 2006 financial support Phare TVET RO 2006/

THE EXTERNAL MONITORING VISIT Has a guiding and supporting role for the TVET schools in the process of quality assurance and improvement of vocational education and training Highlights the strengths and the achievements obtained by it Specifies the weaknesses and the aspects which need addressing Assessment of achievements of TVET schools is carried out taking into consideration the socio-economic context within which they operate Project financed under Phare EUROPEAN UNION MERI/ NCDTVET-PIU Material produced under Phare 2006 financial support Phare TVET RO 2006/

PLANNING OF EXTERNAL MONITORING VISITS WHEN? According to the calendar for the application of quality assurance instruments (annex 3 to Order 6308/2008 of the MERY ) – 1.02 – 1.04 The calendar of external monitoring visits developed by the school inspectorates, in common agreement with the TVET schools WHO? External monitors appointed by the school inspectorates: - subject inspectors - school principals - people in charge within the EQAC - members of the EQAC HOW LONG? One day with the possibility for extension Project financed under Phare EUROPEAN UNION MERI/ NCDTVET-PIU Material produced under Phare 2006 financial support Phare TVET RO 2006/

BEFORE THE VISIT The external monitor Notifies the TVET school the details for the visit preparation (the visit plan) The school Elaborates and sends the visit agenda Allocates a room for interviews and for reviewing the documentation Selects and prepares the people for the interview Prepares the documentation and the data used in the self-assessment process, including the previous year report on the self-assessment process and the improvement plan Ensures the availability of the person in charge within the EQAC during the entire visit Project financed under Phare EUROPEAN UNION MERI/ NCDTVET-PIU Material produced under Phare 2006 financial support Phare TVET RO 2006/

DURING THE VISIT Responsibilities of the external monitor: Visit of the main premises of the school or of external premises Observation of lessons/practical activities Carrying out of interviews (at least one group of students, at least one group of teachers and instructor foremen, members of the EQAC, members of the management team, other staff members, representatives of partners) Reviewing of the documentation (quality manual, statistical data, internal monitoring reports, lessons observation sheets, documents on the collected feedback; from the previous year: the monitoring visit report, the report on the self-assessment process and the improvement plan) Project financed under Phare EUROPEAN UNION MERI/ NCDTVET-PIU Material produced under Phare 2006 financial support Phare TVET RO 2006/

AT THE END OF THE VISIT Establishment of the action plan Provision of feedback - highlighting strengths and achievements obtained within the self-assessment process - highlighting the examples of good practice - specification of weaknesses and aspects which need addressing Project financed under Phare EUROPEAN UNION MERI/ NCDTVET-PIU Material produced under Phare 2006 financial support Phare TVET RO 2006/

POST-VISIT Sending of the monitoring report within no more than one week after the visit Sending of information which is not available during the visit Project financed under Phare EUROPEAN UNION MERI/ NCDTVET-PIU Material produced under Phare 2006 financial support Phare TVET RO 2006/

THE EXTERNAL MONITORING VISIT REPORT The report format – section 7 of the Inspection Manual for the external monitoring of quality in vocational education and training (annex 2 to Order no. 6308/ of the MERY) Structure of the report (10 sections): 1. General Information 2. Modification of Information on the TVET School 3. Comments and Feedback on the part of the TVET School 4. The Previous Action Plan 5. Activities Carried out during the Visit 6. Documentation Reviewed during the Visit 7. The Set Action Plan 8. General Observations 9. Evaluation and Evidence 10. Key Strengths and Key Weaknesses Project financed under Phare EUROPEAN UNION MERI/ NCDTVET-PIU Material produced under Phare 2006 financial support Phare TVET RO 2006/

OUTCOMES OF EXTERNAL MONITORING Organization by the county school inspectorates of external monitoring visits to 1316 TVET schools 941external monitoring visit reports, 4 summary reports, reviewed by 9 local experts in quality assurance 50 monitoring visits to rural schools carried out by 8 local experts in quality assurance 150 visits monitored by the PHARE Project Feedback questionnaires on the external monitoring visits sent to the 150 TVET schools assisted under the PHARE Project and to the external monitors who carried out visits to these schools Project financed under Phare EUROPEAN UNION MERI/ NCDTVET-PIU Material produced under Phare 2006 financial support Phare TVET RO 2006/

FEEDBACK QUESTIONNAIRE – THE EXTERNAL MONITORING VISIT Collects information on the compliance with external monitoring procedures and their usefulness. Allows for the assessment of the level of satisfaction of the school and of the external monitor in terms of: The period before the visit; Performances of the person in charge within the EQAC; The performances of inspectors/external monitors; The post-visit period (the time necessary for writing the external monitoring visit report, the usefulness of the report, the ability to make evidence-based assessments within the report) The period between the visits; The general impression on the visit; Administrative issues (annual scheduling of external monitoring visits, the format of the visit report). Project financed under Phare EUROPEAN UNION MERI/ NCDTVET-PIU Material produced under Phare 2006 financial support Phare TVET RO 2006/

FEEDBACK OUTCOMES With a response rate of 75% in the case of TVET schools and 85.7% in the case of external monitors, the outcomes are extremely positive: 99% of TVET schools and 98.8% of external monitors were satisfied with the external monitoring visits 81% of schools and 78.5% of external monitors were very satisfied + delighted Only a few unsatisfactory aspects were reported in what concerns mainly administrative issues (travelling within the county, reimbursement of expenses and the time allocated to drawing up the visits reports). Project financed under Phare EUROPEAN UNION MERI/ NCDTVET-PIU Material produced under Phare 2006 financial support Phare TVET RO 2006/

RECOMMENDATIONS The positive feedback on the external monitoring process suggests: Continuing the assistance provided to external monitors and TVET schools Guidance of TVET schools and external monitors in using standards and key performance indicators at national level Project financed under Phare EUROPEAN UNION MERI/ NCDTVET-PIU Material produced under Phare 2006 financial support Phare TVET RO 2006/

RECOMMENDATIONS Consolidation of inter-assistance networks The opportunity to develop partnerships within the inter- assistance networks for peer review Regular standardization exercises for the continuous vocational training of external monitors, with the possibility to evaluate their performances Project financed under Phare EUROPEAN UNION MERI/ NCDTVET-PIU Material produced under Phare 2006 financial support Phare TVET RO 2006/

Thank you for your attention! Project financed under Phare EUROPEAN UNION MERI/ NCDTVET-PIU Material produced under Phare 2006 financial support Phare TVET RO 2006/