As part of the DIRECCT programme, funded by the European Union, Enabel is implementing, via its Edukans programme, the EDU-Q UP! project in Uganda, which aims to improve the quality and continuity of teaching and learning using educational technologies.
The project is based on the observation that school management and teaching staff do not have a clear vision of the crucial areas for improvement in order to monitor and improve the performance of their teaching. In addition, school inspectors have little time or resources to visit schools and lack practical analytical tools to identify priority areas for improvement and advise schools accordingly. Finally, communities and carers do not have enough say in school matters and in improving the quality of their children’s education.
An innovative tool for self-assessing educational performance
The Edu-Q card is an online tool that enables schools to (self-)evaluate their performance in a modelled way. This approach is based on five areas for improving the quality of education, each with 8 key indicators, giving a total of 40 indicators.
Teachers feel comfortable and benefit from the evaluation process: “…. Self-evaluation gives me the opportunity to reflect on my teaching process, to identify my weaknesses so that when I meet my supervisor for the joint evaluation, I’m able to ask questions about the areas where I need help to improve”, says a teacher.
Headteachers also benefit directly from the EDU-Q card. Since the start of the project, they have gained a better understanding of their role and have a clearer picture of their needs and the measures that need to be implemented. The tool has enabled them to strengthen their ability to assume these roles by taking into account teachers and the entire educational community: “As a headteacher, I now feel more confident when I assess my teachers, give them feedback on the assessment, discuss the results obtained and draw up initiatives for improvement”, says one headteacher.
Concrete support for teaching and learning practices
This enables school directors to monitor and support daily teaching and learning practices more effectively, and to involve teachers, parents and the community more closely in developing a school improvement programme: “Now we know what to do. The EDU Q-cardhas opened out eyes on what to include in thework plan catering for all quality indicatorsof the whole school.” declares a Head teacher
The EDU-Q card ensures that schools are evaluated holistically (involving teachers, management, parents and communities) and generates improvement plans in which specific actions can be developed for the different stakeholders. Each user can manage their own dashboard and access aggregated data on key performance and core statistics in real time to support decision-making and identify priority areas for improvement. District authorities and the Department of Education and Sport also have an overview of indicators to ensure alignment with local education policies and priorities.
To read the official report, click here
