ETF webinar on peer visits as external evaluation tool

ETF webinar on peer visits as external evaluation tool

After the webinar on self-assessment of schools (LINK) and on graduate tracking (LINK), the ETF Quality Assurance Forum held a webnar on on peer visits as external evaluation tool, on 16 November 2020.

The webinar focused on how peer visits can support the process of self- and peer- assessment at the level of VET providers and policy level.

ETF's Mounir Baati shared how peer visits are used by the ETF Quality Assurance Forum at the transnational level, to support the development of VET quality assurance systems of Forum member countries. 

Fayçal Ben Brahim, from the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Professional Integration of Tunisia shared Tunisa's experience in hosting a peer visit to request feedback of external peers on a new policy measure under development: process of certification of trainers. 

Franz Gramlinger from the Austrian Reference Point for Quality Assurance in VET shared how peer reviews are applied by individual VET school in Austria. 

The international education & training expert, Keith Brumfitt, stressed the following fundamental points on the use of peer visits/peer reviews:

• Peer visits/reviews provide an external perspective on quality assurance. This is complementing the internal quality assurance processes which are used in individual VET schools;
• National culture of quality assurance is important. Any peer visit/review has to be based on, and be part of, the national approach and system e.g. in some systems this involves strong direction from a ministry/government agency - in other systems it is based on a more consultative model which is led and directed by individual VET schools;
• It is really important to use the feedback to improve the quality of provision to ensure the hosts benefit as much as possible;
• The trend towards peer visit/reviews highlights the ways in which the VET sector is supporting itself (at the system or provider level) and growing more confident about their ability to quality assure VET provision.

Materials of the webinar 

Recording in English

Recording in French 

Presentations (uploaded at the bottom of the page):

- ETF Forum for QA in VET, Eva Jansova, ETF

- ETF approach to peer visits, Mounir Baati, ETF

- Peer review in Austrian VET schools, Franz Gramlinger, Austrian Reference Point for Quality Assurance in VET

Report

The highlights of the webinar are outlined in the report attached at the bottom of the page.

How can peer visits contribute to quality improvement ?

Peer visit is a form of external feedback from peers, when an external group of peer experts is invited to give feedback on a certain measure or process selected by the host institution. In the context of the ETF Quality Assurance Forum, peer visits are used as transnational peer reviews of national policies, where peers represent VET quality assurance authorities in different countries. However, peer visits can also be used in a wider context, between peer institutions (for example, schools) of the same country. Both practices will be presented at the webinar.

ETF developed a Peer visit guidance and training manual (link to Manual on ETF Open Space) to provide guidance through the 4 phases of the peer visit: preparation, implementation, delivery of peer feedback and follow-up.

ETF Quality Assurance Forum 

The ETF QA Forum is a transnational collaboration initiative between national institutions with VET quality assurance mandates in ETF’s partner countries. The aim of the Forum is to support member countries to modernise and improve quality assurance in VET. For additional information about the Forum, please contact the ETF senior expert, Mounir Baati, at mba@etf.europa.eu.