A Dutch delegation of representatives of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science and the municipalities (e.g. Gemeente Amsterdam), which are responsible for ALE at the local level, carried out a virtual visit of the SIAE. Several representatives of the OECD and the EC also joined the videoconference.
The SIAE experts Andrej Sotošek, MSc, Dr Tanja Možina and Jasmina Orešnik Cunja participated at the meeting and presented Slovenian approaches to developing the quality of ALE. Also present was a representative of the implementing organisation.
The informal meeting lasted almost three hours, and it was practically oriented. We introduced them to the SIAE, areas of our operation and core business and especially the development of the quality of ALE and the ALE quality system in Slovenia. In the central part of the meeting, we presented our internal approaches to quality development. These are the OQEA self-evaluation model, Quality Counsellors, training and guidance for working in the field of quality, professional and ICT support. We introduced them to the Quality Mosaic portal (in Slovenian) and presented how implementing organisations can use it. What followed was a presentation of external approaches to quality development through a detailed explanation of the Green quality logo, which represents an external incentive for organisations to work on quality.
At the request of the guests, we also invited a representative of the implementing organisation to participate. Alida Zagorc Šuligoj from the Ljubljana Public Education Centre – Cene Štupar presented her practical experience in implementing the OQEA quality system model in the Cene Štupar Centre. She also highlighted the challenges the organisation faced during the implementation. She introduced their work in the field of quality and her role as an ALE quality counsellor, which she managed to place perfectly in her work.
We hope that the experiences presented to Dutch decision-makers will help them to design their quality assurance system in ALE. The visit was part of a minor activity implemented within the broader OECD project that strives to improve the quality of ALE programmes in the Netherlands, which the OECD is implementing in cooperation with the EU Structural Reform Support Service. In collaboration with the Ministry of Education, they are developing a proposal for a quality assurance system in a non-formal ALE in the Netherlands. In the first phase of the project, they reviewed existing quality development practices for ALE in the EU Member States. They also organised several workshops where the best European practices were presented to many Dutch actors in the ALE sector. The Slovenian approach to OQEA self-evaluation was presented in October 2019 in Utrecht as an example of good practice.
Preparations for such presentations are an excellent opportunity to reflect on what has been implemented. It allows us to perform a quick overview of the work we performed, approaches we implemented, their advantages and disadvantages. Such invitations also enable us to continue our professional growth. It is motivating to see our experiences and successes presented in a positive way to others. That is why we are honoured to have the opportunity and present in Europe the Slovenian experiences with quality in ALE.
Jasmina Orešnik Cunja (jasmina.oresnik.cunja@acs.si), ACS
