FINNISH DEVELOPMENTS IN QUALITY ASSURANCE IN VET

1. FINNISH DEVELOPMENTS IN QUALITY ASSURANCE IN VET NCP-VET-CO – project 21 – 22 October 2010, Prague Mari Räkköläinen Counsellor of Education Head of Unit Finnish National Board of Education

2. FinnishEducation System

3. Finnish National Board of Education

4. Role of the FNBE in VET QA • Prepares the national qualification requirements for VET • Decides on the learning outcomes of the studies and their assessment • Evaluates nationally learning outcomes • Promotes quality management in VET and support the providers in QA • Supports and develops nationally important aims in close co-operation with the providers and working life

5. Schoolleaversafter 9 years of compulsoryeducation 47,9 % upper secondary general education School leavers (comprehensive School) 66893 (year 2010) 49,8 % upper secondary vocational education 2,0 % optional 10th year in comprehensive school 3,4 % did not continue directly in education

6. Quality Management in Finland(Important topics) • Decentralisation • Normative regulations decreasing • The provider is the main actor • Importance to look at same time at different levels: institution/provider/regional/national and EU levels • Decisions on quality enhancement mainly made by the education provider • The provider choices the method of quality management and self-evaluation • the law obligates providers to evaluate their VET provision and its effectiviness and participate in external evaluation of their operations

7. EXAMPLES OF NATIONAL STEERING OF QA IN VET • Licencing of VET providers Accreditation: fields of training, maximum number of students/year, other requirements and provisions • National requirements for VET  Requirements and local curricula designed in cooperation with students and representatives of working life  Individual study programmes • Quality Management Recommendation •  The CQAF (the EQAVET) has been reference model •  On voluntary basis •  foundation for long-term development of QA • Quality awards • Quality award for vocational education and training •  Quality award for apprenticeship training •  Quality award for civic colleges/open colleges

8. STRUCTURE OF THE QUALITY ASSURANCE RECOMMENDATIONS EDUCATION AND TRAINING POLICY DEFINITIONS AND PRIORITIES NATIONAL STEERING OF VET RECOMMENDATIONS GENERAL BASIS OF QUALITY MANAGEMENT • The Common Quality • Assurance Framework • (CQAF) • - planning • - implementation • - evaluation and assessment • review (feedback and • procedures for change) Characteristics of excellence -consideration of functions as a whole -customer focus -leadership - result orientation - continuous learning, innovation and improvement - people as resources - effective processes - relevance to the world of work and partnerships - social responsibility

9. Design, assessment, validation and recognition of competences / learning outcomes in Finland

10. Current developments in national steering of QA • Performance-based funding •  2% -> 3% (2011) • Indicators: employment rate, drop out rate, graduation rate, transition to HE, staff qualification and staff development • Measurement (2011): effectiviness (90%), teachers´ qualification (7%) and staff development (3%) •  More focus on local situation and present conditions of providers •  Take more into considerations providers own efforts on graduation and employment •  Take into consideration students background and underlying factors

11. DEVELOPMENT OF QUALITY ASSURANCE IN VET CURRENT ACTIVITIES • Takingactivelypart in QA activities at Europeanlevel (ENQA-VET, EQAVET) • FNBE is QANRP (qualityassurancereferencepoint) in Finland (website, organize QA seminars, providetraining, cooperatewithotherQARNPs and all the QA activies ) • Active national QA network: network of the people who work with quality issues in VET has been established • the national development and supportactivities to promote the use of Peer Reviews. • Peer learning/ reviewactivities at national and locallevel • -> requirements and recommendations

12. National Peer Review activities in Finland • The procedure for Transnational European Peer Reviews can be used in Finland for both IVET and CVET (only some slight modification needed) • National criteria for IVET and CVET have been developed based on European Peer Review cirteria. • Many Peer Review trainings have been organised. • Peer Review procedure have been used in ESR projects (experience on European Peer Review projects have been used) and criteria have been developed • CIMO in cooperation with FNBE has developed draft criteria and Peer Review procedure for TOI projects and they will be piloted in autumn • Establishment a coordinating group for Peer Reviews used in quality improvement tool for projects at national level.

13. DEVELOPMENT OF QUALITY ASSURANCE IN VET CURRENT ACTIVITIES • Ministry of Education and Culture with FNBE and keystakeholdergroupsarepreparingqualityassurancestrategy for VET. The strategywillbeready at the end of the year 2010 • Qualityimprovement of apprenticeshiptraining • -> National developmentproject 2009 – 2010 • -> Designingqualityrequirements and recommendations • -> Handbook of QA

14. First results of the survey on Quality Management • FNBE has made a survey on QA year 2004 and spring 2009 again. • FNBE has sent the on-line questionnaire to 158 VET providers. • 110 answered the questionnaire (69 %). • 27 respondents (27 %) has made systematic quality work over 10 years, 28 respondents (27 %) 6 -10 years, 19 respondents (19 %) 3-5 years and 28 respondents (27 %) less than 3 years.

15. How long have the VET providers made systematic quality work on year 2009 and 2004? • Year 2004 the respondents were mostly persons responsible for quality work in a college. Year • 2009 the respondents were VET providers. Leena Koski

16. Quality models/methods which have been used and/or are in use at VET provider level?

17. Documentation of QA principles(All together 186 choices, almost every second respondent (N = 110) has answered that they have been documented at least in two places) Leena Koski

20. FUTURE NEEDS AND CHALLENGES OF QUALITY MANAGEMENT(Survey 2004 /2008, by FNBE) • To motivate and to commit the managers and the staff • To ensure enough resources for Quality Management • To describe the key processes of education and training • To manage by processes • To measure the results of learning and teaching processes

21. FUTURE NEEDS AND CHALLENGES OF QUALITY MANAGEMENT (Survey 2004,2008 by FNBE) • To develop the systematic feedback procedures • To identify good indicators • To analyse and to evaluate the results and make decisions based on results (development activities) • To implement BSC model and combine it with EFQM-model • To promote the co-operation and exchange of good practice • QUALITY WORK INTO EVERYDAY PRACTICE!

22. THANK YOU!

23. VOCATIONAL EDUCATION IN FINLAND - More Information www.minedu.fi Ministry of Education www.edu.fi the Finnish education portal information in Finnish, Swedish and English www.oph.fi Finnish National Board of Education information in Finnish, Swedish and English