A Training Guide for Quality Assurance in Language Education

Background to Qualitraining

This website results from two projects run within the ECML's (European Centre for Modern Languages) Empowering Language Professionals and the Languages for Social Cohesion programme entitled:

1. "QualiTraining at Grassroots Level" a short-term project 2008-2009 (see directly below)
2. "QualiTraining - A Training Guide for Quality Assurance" a medium-term project 2004-2007

1. "QualiTraining at Grassroots Level"

"QualiTraining at Grassroots Level" is intended as a follow-up to the ECML project "QualiTraining - A Training Guide for Quality Assurance", with the aim to contribute to a wider dissemination of the previous project's outcomes.

Its main goal is to take "QualiTraining" processes and products further to various national and regional contexts, while adapting workshop materials and supplementing them with further case studies. This will be achieved through the consolidation and extension of the ECML "QualiTraining" network, through the identification of active members willing to contribute to national events, as well as through reflective action and the development of tools for monitoring and evaluating the implementation of the "QualiTraining Guide" and related processes in specific educational contexts.

By further developing the web-based component and targeted networking, the project will also offer the framework for sharing best practice at various levels. This project will help trainers to better understand the inter-relatedness between generic "QualiTraining" concepts and Council of Europe education instruments (CEFR, ELP) and educational practice, and to link these to their work in real educational environments. To ensure the project's sustainability, the co-ordinating team will seek to publish action research outcomes in journals and to consolidate a network of networks.

2. "QualiTraining - A Training Guide for Quality Assurance"

This project was intended as a follow-up to the ECML project “Quality Assurance and Self-assessment for Schools and Teachers”.

There is a growing interest in national and regional contexts for standardisation in areas such as evaluation, approaches to quality control and management. The CD Rom on “Quality Management in Language Education” (outcome of the 1st MTP) provides useful resources for this, and an accompanying guide for trainers and multipliers, would ensure its effectiveness as an instrument for quality assurance.

The main project aims were to develop a training guide for quality assurance on the basis of the existing CD Rom on Quality Management, to train multipliers/trainers to set off a cascading process and to work towards consolidating a quality assurance culture in language education across Europe and beyond.

Acknowledgement

The QualiTraining publication and website result from the work of an international network established within two ECML projects. We would like to thank all who worked on QualiTraining, in particular the project coordination team for their motivation and an active involvement. The QualiTraining site is dedicated to Maria Matheidesz who played a key role in the "QualiTraining at Grassroots Level" project but is sadly no longer with us.