Abstract:

In recent years, more and more attention has been paid to quality evaluation in secondary education. Worldwide, a number of specialized independent institutions and researchers are developing models for quality evaluation in secondary education. According to current legislation, each secondary school in Bulgaria has to propose its own system of measures to improve the quality of education. The National Inspectorate of Education conducts appropriate inspections throughout the country. In this regard the paper proposes a model for quality evaluation for the needs of secondary schools in Bulgaria. The model has been developed on the basis of in-depth analysis of well-established European models and in accordance with Bulgarian regulatory documents. The model includes 12 criteria for measuring the quality (Teaching, Educational Activity, Learning Outcomes, Support for Children with Special Education Needs, Teacher-student Relationships, Prevention of Dropping out of the Education System, Financial Management, Human Resources Management, Teachers' Professional Skills, Stakeholder Engagement, Facilities, Digitization of Services) with corresponding sets of specific indicators. Based on the ongoing verification of the model by various stakeholder representatives it can be clearly concluded that it allows for the viewpoints of all stakeholder groups (student, parent, class teacher, teacher, director, inspector) to be taken into account during evaluation and thus to serve as a useful tool for ongoing quality assurance and objective quality evaluation in Bulgarian secondary schools. In the next stages of the study, software tools will be developed using the verified model to automate the processes of secondary education quality assurance and evaluation.

Keywords:

Quality evaluation, secondary education, Bulgaria.