Abstract:

With the QUAL4T project seven European partners aim to provide teachers and trainers with good materials to help them improving quality in education. We developed a toolkit and a practical guide, with ready to use quality instruments for teachers, quality staff and mentors. We also developed a management summation and a questionnaire set for learners, teachers and work field.

The partners are investing in a quality improvement culture, where teachers and trainers are active players. We are also transferring quality instruments and best practices. The outcomes of QUAL4T can be used in all sectors, EQF-levels and curricula of professional, secondary, primary and higher education.

Are you the teacher that wants to improve quality of education for better results for your pupils? Or are you the quality staff member wanting to improve quality culture in your team or school? Follow our project! Our products are best practices or specially designed to bridge a gap, and... for free and direct use for all days quality improvement in Vocational and Adult education! ( all quality toolkit instruments are down-loadable from our website: www.qual4t-project.org).

The quality toolkit contains 33 instruments, arranged in a number of main themes. Each instrument is supported by a short guideline, addressing teacher or quality staff, or work field; and can be used both on-line or as a printed text document. The tools can already be used in EN, ES, NL and IT. In August 2015 the final versions will be published in these languages as well as in German and Greek.

We like to give you an impression by publishing the overview of all toolkit themes:
A. Raising Awareness (3 tools)
B. Planning for Action ( 5 tools)
C. Quality Improvement in your Classroom (6 tools)
D. Evaluation and Feedback (6 tools)
E. Time for REFLECTION (3 tools)
F. Improving Quality in your Institution ( 8 tools)
G. Improving Quality for Employers (2 tools)

Nowadays quality improvement in professional education is a main issue. In The Netherlands, Greece, Italy, Germany and the United Kingdom approaches to Quality Assurance are in line with the EQAVET Reference Framework, and Spain is preparing this approach. Nevertheless we know that we are not yet finished. There is more work to be done, as in the 2012 EQAVET survey is concluded that both teachers and pupils in only 50% of all countries are 'always or sometimes' involved in the development of the national Quality Assurance approaches. And it is THESE teachers that are our main target group and these pupils that we aim to involve in QA.

The QUAL4T project is coordinated by Landstede Group NL and funded by the European Commission through the Leonardo da Vinci (TOI) Grant program and runs from 1 November 2013 till 31 October 2015. The other partners are: Politeknika Ikastegia Txorierri (ES), Westminster Kingsway College (UK), Stichting Ecabo (NL), Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg (DE), CIOFS-Formazione Professionale (IT) and IDEC SA (EL). LLP-LdVTOI Project number: 2013-1-NL1-LEO05-12088

Keywords:

Quality, pdca, teachers, quality staff, instruments, quality guide, primary education, secondary education, professional education, VET, adult education.