Assistant head attends Comenius course

A few months ago I had the opportunity to pursue a Comenius course entitled "School-Based Evaluation of Quality for School-Development" in Tramin, near Bolzano in South Tyrol, Italy.

The course organisers have already established the SEQuALS (Supporting Evaluation of Quality and Learning Schools) project. It aims to "support school-based evaluation of quality as an opportunity for school development", and to understand how both national and international schools are dealing with the new educational changes brought about by decentralisation leading to increased school autonomy.

During the course I could refresh and enrich my knowledge through the lectures, workshops and school visits on:

¤ the differentiation between the self-evaluating school and school-based evaluation

¤ the school as a learning organisation

¤ the evaluation processes to be undertaken by a self-evaluating school as advocated by the Scottish HM Inspectorate of Education 2002. The effects of the evaluation process on the whole school, its stakeholders, the School Development Plan (SDP), and its contribution towards the improvement of school effectiveness and school development.

¤ the management of change for effective school improvement and school development as depicted by a case study carried out in a Viennese School.

¤ the drafting of a three-year Action Plan for the SDP, and the Quality Indicators to be employed during the implementation process for the accomplishment of the SDP.

¤ the on-site school-based evaluation experiences derived from school visits in South Tyrol. Besides encouraging and supporting a positive attitude towards school-based evaluation, the schools initiate new evaluation projects in partnerships with other European Schools participating in Comenius projects.

The areas of quality - those involving teaching and learning, class and school climate, class and school management, and staff development, are the focus for school-based evaluation. The improvement and development derived from the evaluation process enables autonomous schools to compete with other schools in the area to attract more students to their schools.

Besides the knowledge obtained, I am now in a better position to involve any junior lyceum and secondary school on a school-based evaluation project with another five European schools.