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SAIDE has been leading a collaborative development
of a quality assurance toolkit for use in open schools
on behalf of the Commonwealth of Learning. Ephraim Mhlanga
reports on a recent workshop to review the drafts of
the different components of the toolkit.
Introduction
This article is a follow up to one that was published
in the SAIDE Newsletter, Volume 15 Number 5 of 2009 which reported on work that had commenced at SAIDE on
the development of a quality assurance toolkit for use
in open schools. In this article we report on the toolkit
review workshop that was facilitated by SAIDE in March
2010 in Maputo, Mozambique and progress on the project
in general.
Purpose of the workshop
The Maputo workshop was primarily meant to give participants
an opportunity to review the toolkit in terms of its
relevance, appropriateness for the needs of open schools,
adequacy in terms of guiding practitioners on quality
assurance in open schools and user-friendliness given
the wide diversity of the expertise in the schools in
terms of quality assurance. The review process was aimed
at improving the quality of the conceptual section,
the quality criteria and their constituent elements,
and the case studies exemplifying good practice.
The specific aims of the workshop were:
- To promote shared understanding of the key concepts,
values and principles of quality and quality assurance
as portrayed in the introductory part of the toolkit.
- To increase awareness of the different dimensions
of open schooling that need to be considered when
establishing and maintaining a quality assurance system
in an open school.
- To maximize understanding of the different parts
of the toolkit in terms of the tools therein and how
they should be used to enhance quality in open schools.
- To facilitate refinement of the toolkit.
Enviable zeal and commitment
The workshop was opened by the permanent secretary of
Education in Mozambique, Mrs Maria Albertina da Conceicao
Bila. This shows the amount of political support open
schooling enjoys in the country. Mrs Frances Ferreira
(the coordinator of the project from COL) also gave
a brief opening speech and actively participated in
the workshop throughout the three days.
Unlike the 2008 Johannesburg workshop, the Maputo workshop
consisted of only nine participants, all of whom had
contributed case studies on their schools. Throughout
the three-day stint, the participants alternated group
work with plenary sessions, with amazing resilience
and focus. Armed with hard and soft copies of the documents
and a computer per group, they reviewed all the components
of the toolkit, making insightful comments and well-considered
additions and clarifications where necessary. The most
daunting part of the workshop was the review of the
nine case studies, some of which were still in their
raw stages.
You reap what you sow
The achievements of this workshop were commendable.
Participants managed to review all the different components
of the toolkit as planned and made useful comments to
improve the draft kit. Some new elements were added
to the quality criteria as participants reflected on
their experiences back home. Some of them also re-worded
to make them clear. A uniform format was suggested in
order to standardise the case studies and make what
they illustrate more explicit. Writers were advised
to go back and refine their inputs on the basis of the
workshop recommendations. The revised toolkit has been
submitted to COL for review in preparation for publication.
On another level, participants displayed growing levels
of appreciation of quality and quality assurance issues
and challenges as they relate to open schooling. Apart
from the immediate objective of improving the quality
of the toolkit, the experience was capacity building
that has great potential for yielding immense benefits
in the collaborating institutions.
Conclusion
On behalf of SAIDE, Ephraim would like to thank all
the participants for their valuable contribution towards
this important resource, including those who could not
participate in the Maputo workshop due to budgetary
constraints. We look forward to the publication of a
simple and easy-to-follow guide on quality assuring
open schooling.
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