Untitled

saxelmwifo enis swavlebis sakiTxebi:
problemebi da gamowvevebi
Issues of State Language Teaching;
Problems and Challenges
Aspects of General Education Evaluation in the Minority Schools of Latvia
ABSTRACT
Since October 2005, the State General Education Quality Evaluation Agency has been responsible for the
comparisons of Latvia’s education level to other European nations (the agency was established by a Cabinet
of Ministers Regulation). Its basic task was to evaluate the quality of the operation of those schools
which carry out licensed education programmes. In May 2009, through the collation of 723 (72%) general
school operations quality evaluation results, a certain overall view was gained about the situation in education.
The "positive" sides of the work were clarified (for example, professional teachers, a support system
established at the school for the development of student personality), as were problems (for example, the
shortage of modern resources, school work organization and leadership, a student learning achievement
evaluation system) and the search and recommendation of solutions to them were found (including the review
of the number of normative acts, then – the content). The quality of school operations in Latvia has
been assessed as being similar to many places in Europe, for example, Scotland, Germany and Lithuania.
Therefore, the data is comparable. Using the unified methodology, in evaluating 7 areas of a school’s work
(based on 20-22 criteria) at four levels, it can be inferred that Latvia’s schools are good overall. The question
though is – for how long? The period of regression already mentioned, including access to financial
resources will also influence this overall assessment. Of the international measurements and research, the
most popular currently is the OECD nations’ "Programme for International Student Assessment" (PISA
2006, 2009) research, the results and conclusions of which also indicate that overall the achievements of
Latvia’s students can be considered as good, but process development provides evidence of certain signs of
stagnation. The school operations quality evaluation process or accreditation is currently recognized by the
community. A positive aspect is the clearly defined requirements (precise criteria) and method of evaluation.
There has been a system in the area for at least five years. But the view also exists that accreditation,
as it is interpreted currently, must be suspended. If by accreditation, we understand the monitoring of the
work of educational institutions or quality surveillance, then I agree that it should exist, but it must be restructured
from its roots and, should possibly be completely different. And one of the foundation stones
could be the data analysis of state testing, in order to be able to oversee the whole school process. In the
same way, it will be necessary to create criteria, by which the monitoring of nurturing work can take place.
The further goal of the research is, through an analysis of the existing education quality evaluation process
in the nation, to develop criteria or to recommend an operations monitoring model for educational institutions,
which would promote the improvement of the education process.
The words “Education quality” are characteristic key words in education systems throughout the world,
which are closely connected with accessibility to education, education content, the period of the education’s
suitability and others. An example is the job market or even the requirements of the next step in education, as
well as the education system’s functioning as a whole. Article 112 of the Constitution of the Republic of Latvia
prescribes the compulsory nature of the attainment of elementary education, and the guarantees of the attainment
of elementary and secondary education can be interpreted as guarantees of the attainment of a quality
education. (Constitution of the Republic of Latvia)
However, the concept of education quality, in practice, continues to be interpreted in many ways, especially
emphasizing its specific character in connection with defined target groups – those to be educated and
their parents, pedagogues, society and employers etc.
Along with this, questions continue to arise about the established education quality system and evaluation
(accreditation) of education quality in the nation, as well as the education quality evaluation experience acquired
up till now, the consistency of development and its problems. The analysis of this is also one of the
wider research goals of the evaluation of general education which has been commenced.
The goal of the research is to analyze the existing general education quality evaluation process (accreditation)
in the nation and to discuss the results of accreditation in the minority schools of Latvia.
There is no doubt that society noticeably influences the teaching process in educational institutions, basically
demanding good defined education standards, which are also one of the foundations for putting up defined
quality criteria and undertaking evaluation. We must guarantee that a graduate of any educational institution
is prepared for life in this era, and that pedagogues are able to provide the required support in the
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