Evaluation and monitoring of educational quality. Proposal for a theoretical model and digital measuring instruments

The American Society Quality defines quality as all the aspects and the characteristics of a product, process or service, on which depend its ability to satisfy a need: physical characteristics, appearance, durability, usability, reliability, logistics support, practicality. The multiplicity of aspects and contexts of application quality is so complex that it is difficult to find a single comprehensive definition of the same. In general it is categorized in several types depending on the point of view from which is analyzed. In this sense it is possible to distinguish the quality “promised” related to design, the quality “delivered” of the rigor and comprehensiveness of the training process, the quality “perceived” from the client and the “expected” quality. This topic is the basis of research and technological development of Digizen, Italian start-up of the Sapienza University of Rome. From the issue of quality assurance, Digizen has designed and developed monitoring and evaluation model through digital tools, considering all different areas that define its complexity. From this framework, the aim of the paper is to present the theoretical framework and methodology that stands behind the construction of the model of educational quality of the start-up, with reference to international standards and to the international scientific debate; In particular, attention will focus mainly on the deepening of the model area related to the quality of the evaluation and monitoring of a training process. This area of the model includes both the verification of the effectiveness of the training process - starting from the learning outcomes - and the efficiency of the evaluation process and verification procedures, triggered by the so-called training provider (coordinator of the process). Moreover it calculates the average term impact of the training through comparative statistics on the quality of different training courses. Specifically, in the reconstruction of this area of the model, two perspectives will be explored: the reconstruction of the mapping of the indicators for assessment and monitoring of the training, that are at the base of quality measurement, and the experimental proposal of a tool kit for survey and analysis of same, through the calculation of various quality indices, partial and synthetic. At present the model is still in a phase of prototyping and scientific/methodological validation and can be considered as a first tool for the quality certification of educational processes based on indexes and indicators shared by the European Union. References Bonstingl J.J., Schools of Quality: An Introduction to Total Quality Management in Education Corwin Press, 2001 Cort P. Stating the Obvious: the European Qualifications Framework is not a neutral evidence-based policy tool, European Educational Research Journal, 9(3), 304-316, 2010. http://dx.doi.org/10.2304/eerj.2010.9.3.304 Winther E., Achtenhagen F., Measurement of vocational competencies - a contribution to an international large-scale assessment on vocational education and training, Empirical Research in Vocational Education and Training, Volume 1, Number 1, 2009 , pp. 85-102(18), Sense Publishers, 2009. Wholey J. S., “Using evaluation to emprove Government Performance”, in Evaluation practice, n. 7, 1986.