Peer Review – More Impact, Excellent Results Erasmus Project

Project Title

Peer Review – More Impact, Excellent Results

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Strategic Partnerships for vocational education and training

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2017

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: International cooperation, international relations, development cooperation; Quality Improvement Institutions and/or methods (incl. school development); Quality Assurance

Project Summary

Peer Review – More Impact, Excellent Results

Background:
We built the project on the experiences and the feedback received from the Strength from Peer Review project. The aim was to widen the use of Peer Review to new quality areas as well as to pilot the materials, criteria and indicators and the method in new organizations and countries thus improving also the existing criteria and indicators.
The project addressed the objectives of the Erasmus+ program by fostering quality improvements, innovation and internationalization. Enhancing mobility is one of the objectives of Education and Training 2020 framework.
When planning international activities VET providers must take into consideration national and European policy objectives. Student and staff mobility and development projects are ways to carry out internationality. However, international activities are not always written in the strategies in all the participating countries. VET colleges and students could benefit more from home internationalization activities. Thus, the impact of the activities is not easily to be shown.
Continuous quality improvement of VET is a priority in the participating countries. In addition, we wanted to develop Peer Review as an opportunity for continuous professional development of VET teachers as stated in Riga Conclusion 2015 and thus raise the overall quality of VET.
Objectives:
We aimed at developing and piloting uniform operational principles, procedures and processes that help to achieve the aims set for VET internationalization in collaboration with national and international partners through Peer Review methodology.
All the partners of the project agreed on the importance of developing the quality of their services and linking internationality deeper in the core activities of their organizations.
Premier helped participating organisations to
– get familiar with the Peer Review method, especially the new partners, for others it deepened the competence and new staff members participated
– learn how to utilize the method in order to evaluate not only their international activities but also other activities since the method is transferable
– improve the quality of international activities
– understand the link between international activities and the strategy and development of the organization
Participants:
The consortium consisted of three Finnish VET providers, two of them were Special Needs Vocational Colleges. Besides, three nationwide organizations from France, Italy and the Netherlands, two vocational colleges from Estonia, one from Slovenia and one from Sweden took part in the project. Ammattiopisto Luovi was the coordinator of the project.
The participants were either teachers or administration staff members involved in international activities in the partner colleges The quality managers or persons in charge of the quality issues were reached, too. The secondary target group was the management of the college. Each partner chose two to three persons to be trained as Peers.
Other staff, students and stakeholders participated during the self-evaluation and Peer Review Visit phases.
Activities:
The project included a training module to instruct the partners to carry out Peer Review and to train staff members. Practical training took place at Peer Visits. We organized five transnational meetings to work on the criteria. In addition to on-going evaluation and dissemination, we organized five multiplier events.
Premier products are:
1) Peer Review Training module including materials, face-to-face training, on-line training and Peer Visits as practical training exercise.
2) Criteria for home internationalization, I@H. This includes activities carried out excluding mobility, e.g. receiving students and staff.
3) Revised criteria on student mobility including apprentices, staff mobility, partnership projects and international strategy.
Impact and long-term benefits:

At individual level, the skills and competences of the trained Peers increased. At organizational level, the quality of internationalization and international processes improved. Besides, strengthening and building new partnerships is a result from the project. The link between the organization’s strategy and international activities was strengthened and the impact and efficiency of the international processes became measurable. Participating organizations have more competent staff members in quality issues and international activities.

At national and European level, the idea of Peer Review as a tool for evaluating activities and processes is familiar in new partner countries.

Peer Review, as a method of external evaluation is transferable and sustainable and can be used in other quality areas, too. As one of us summarized: It gives the VET colleges a clear view on possible developments for improvement. It is a tool to promote international activities and to draw positive attention of the management and the board.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 234329 Eur

Project Coordinator

Hengitysliitto ry/Ammattiopisto Luovi & Country: FI

Project Partners

• Invalidisäätiö
• Fondation Apprentis d’Auteuil
• MBO RAAD
• FEDERAZIONE CENTRO NAZIONALE OPERESALESIANE FORMAZIONE AGGIORNAMENTO PROFESSIONALE
• Viljandi Kutseõppekeskus
• Center za izobrazevanje, rehabilitacijo in usposabljanje Kamnik
• Kuressaare Ametikool