Internationality for all! Quality and impact of international activities in special needs VET, case Luovi Vocational College IVETA 2014 International Conference, Helsinki 20 th of August
Contents of the presentation The presentation focuses on the International activities in Luovi Internationality in VET in Finland Quality management and continuous quality improvement in VET in Finland Self-evaluation and Peer Review as tools for developing international activities Impact of internationality
The Education System in Finland
Luovi operates nationwide 26 locations in Finland staff around 850 largest vocational special needs VET provider private organization public funding vocational qualifications and preparatory trainings guidance and support in VET transitions and during VET special needs expertise services to mainstream, e.g. staff training and consultation
Internationality in Luovi Internationalisation is included in Luovi s strategy Targets Equal opportunities Increasing competence Luovi, Luovi s staff, students and partners Identification and sharing good practices Approaches Development projects Internationalisation at home Partnerships and networks: EPR, EfVET and IVETA Student mobility Staff mobility
Example - growing as professionals during onthe-job learning in France Included in individual study plans Part of the catering and horticulture curricula Preparation: culture, language, practical issues, objectives of the on-the-job learning Support persons Based on long-term partnership Included in Luovi s strategy Meets the objectives of national and EU strategies for increasing mobility
Framework for Internationality in VET in Finland Development Plan for Education and Research for 2011-2016 in Finland National Qualification Requirements Priorities for the development of International activities funded by the Finnish National Board of Education Strategies of VET providers
Framework for Internationality in VET in Finland Based on the strategies and activities of European Union e.g. EUROPE 2020: a strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth ET 2020: strategic framework for education and training 2020 aiming at: making lifelong learning and mobility a reality improving the quality and efficiency of education and training promoting equity, social cohesion and active citizenship enhancing creativity and innovation, including entrepreneurship, at all levels of education and training
Quality management and continuous quality improvement in VET Continuous improvement of the quality of vocational education and training (VET) is a key priority both in Finland and within the European Union Quality management in VET in Finland is based on encouragement and support to systematic quality management and continuous quality improvement by the Ministry of Education and Culture and the Finnish National Board of Education
Quality management and continuous quality improvement in VET VET providers must evaluate their service provision and its effectiveness and be involved in external evaluations Vocational Education Act 630/1998 By 2015 all VET providers will have effective quality system / operational system VET Quality Strategy 2011-2020, Ministry of Education and Culture
Evaluation and outcome measurement of international activities in Luovi Self-evaluations International partnerships 2010 Student mobility 2011 Staff mobility 2011 Peer Review International activities 2012 Included also in EFQM self-evaluation 2013 and Quality Management and quality improvement self-evaluation 2014
Peer Review as a tool for developing performance Peer Review is a method of external evaluation is mainly based on European Peer Review for VET in VET in Finland supports VET providers quality management and development highlights strengths and areas for improvement is based on defined quality areas and criteria peers come from similar field and they are called critical friends peers are trained
Peer Review as a tool for developing international activities project 2012 The project included Creation and piloting of indicators and evaluation criteria for the selected quality areas Planning of Peer Reviews to all project-partner organizations Inviting Peers Peer Training Conducting Peer Reviews Luovi: International activities Keskuspuisto: Partnership projects Kainuu and Lappia: Student mobility
Peer Review in Luovi Description and self-evaluation of Luovi s international activities January to March 2012 Site Visit to Luovi in May 2012 Feedback report from the Peers after the site visit Development plan based on the feedback report, but also to self-evaluations in 2010 and 2011 Promoting mobility among all the staff Dissemination and utilization of the experiences and results of the mobilities Defining indicators and measures Describing the international skills and competencies needed Building the process of international projects
Benefits of Peer Review Description of activities and self-evaluation of strengths and areas for improvement adds understanding of the activities Involves management, staff, students and partners Learning together with other Peers and peer reviewed organizations Networking Getting acquainted with other organizations Makes good practices invisible External, constructive and critical feedback Continuous improvement and development of activities Increased visibility of internationalization
Outcome measurement of international activities Number of outgoing students over 2 weeks under 2 weeks Number of outgoing staff over 5 working days Number of incoming students Number of incoming staff Objectives of Luovi Internationalisation Plan Objectives of Luovi and EPR CAP (Centre Action Plan) Feedback from students and staff
Impact of internationality Growing as a human being Improved skills and competencies Benchmarking of good practices Increasing Luovi s expertise Sharing Luovi s and Finland s expertise on Special Needs VET Awareness raising of equal opportunities and focusing on strengths of students with special needs
Thank you Contact information marjut.huttunen(at)luovi.fi mari.kontturi(at)luovi.fi Luovi Vocational College, Box 389, 90101 Oulu, Finland