Final Evaluation of RO9405 Phare VET Reform Programme, Ministry of National Education, Bucharest, Romania. Final Version
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
DOCUMENT RESUME ED 469 784 CE 079 772 AUTHOR Nielsen, Soren P. TITLE Final Evaluation of R09405 Phare VET Reform Programme, Ministry of National Education, Bucharest, Romania. Final Version. INSTITUTION European Training Foundation, Turin (Italy). PUB DATE 1999-00-00 NOTE 98p.; Not all appendixes are included with document. AVAILABLE FROM For full text: http://www.etf.itietfweb.nsf/pages/ downloadsee. PUB TYPE Reports Evaluative (142) EDRS PRICE EDRS Price MF01/PC04 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS Change Strategies; Curriculum Development; Demonstration Programs; *Educational Change; Educational Equipment; *Educational Improvement; Educational Policy; Foreign Countries; *International Educational Exchange; Job Training; Management Development; Partnerships in Education; Pilot Projects; Postsecondary Education; Program Effectiveness; Program Evaluation; Secondary Education; Staff Development; Sustainable Development; Teacher Education; *Vocational Education IDENTIFIERS *European Union; Impact Studies; *Romania; Social Partners (European Community) ABSTRACT The Phare Vocational Education and Training (VET) Reform Programme in Romania was evaluated in May-June 1999. According to the two evaluators who conducted intensive visits to 14 pilot and demonstration schools and met with 9 zonal and local development committees and key representatives of Romanian government and educational agencies, the VET reform program successfully accomplished its immediate objectives of introducing new types of curricula designed to increase VET graduates' initiative, flexibility, and background and thereby help them adapt to the country's changed job profiles and labor demands. The evaluation found that although program actors and management initially encountered a number of barriers, they became increasingly more professional and efficient as the program progressed. The program's results and inputs to Romania's national policy debate and general VET reform appeared quite sustainable to the evaluators in terms of policy and strategies, institutional development, introduction of social partnership, and generalization of the new curriculum model to the entire country. The following materials are among the document's attachments and 12 appendixes: list of individuals met during the evaluation missions; list of pilot and demonstration schools; program terms of reference; and various Romanian government notifications and decisions regarding the development, implementation, and evaluation of VET. (Contains 46 references.) (MN). Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. R09405 Phare VET Reform Programme in Romania 1995-1997 `1" U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION 00 Office of Educational Research and Improvement PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE AND Cs EDU ATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION DISSEMINATE THIS MATERIAL HAS CENTER (ERIC) BEEN GRANTED BY Ch This document has been reproduced as C) received from the person or organization "ct originating it. Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quality. Points of view or opinions stated in this TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES document do not necessarily represent INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) official OERI position or policy. 1 Final Evaluation of R09405 Phare VET Reform Programme Ministry of National Education Bucharest, Romania Final version Soren P. Nielsen The Danish Institute for Educational Training of Vocational Teachers (DEL) Anna Le Steen Hansen Aalborg Technical College BEST COPY AVAILABLE Final Evaluation May-June 1999 2 R09405 Phare VET Reform Programme in Romania/ Final Evaluation TABLE OF CONTENTS I. INTRODUCTION 5 II. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 6 BA GENERAL FINDINGS 6 11.2 CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT 6 II.3 TEACHER TRAINING 7 11.4 UP-DATING OF EQUIPMENT 7 11.5 EU PARTNERSHIPS 8 11.6 SOCIAL PARTNERSHIP 8 III. DESCRIPTION OF THE PROGRAMME 9 BACKGROUND TO THE ROMANIAN SITUATION 9 111.2 OBJECTIVES OF THE R09405 PHARE VET REFORM PROGRAMME 9 IV ANALYSIS AND ASSESSMENT OF THE IMPLEMENTATION OF PROGRAMME COMPONENTS 11 IV.1 EVALUATION OF THE CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT APPROACH 11 IV.1.1 Overview 11 IV.1.2 The VET curriculummodel and achievements 12 IV.1.3 The socio-economic context 14 IV.1.4 Designing and structuring the curriculum 17 IV.1.5 The delivery of curriculum: teaching and learning 21 IV.2 ASSESSMENT OF THE TRAINING COMPONENT: TRAINING PROGRAMMES FOR SCHOOL MANAGERS, CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT OFFICERS AND TEACHERS AND TRAINERS 23 IV.2.1 Overview 23 1V.2.2 The training component: volume, course contents and methodologies 24 1V.2.3 Competencies developed by participants in courses 26 1V.2.4 Sustainability and impact of the component 27 IV.3 UPDATING OF EQUIPMENT 28 IV.3.1 Overview 28 IV.3.2 Policy Context 28 IV.3.3 The process of organising needs specification and procurement 30 IV.4 PARTNERSHIP ARRANGEMENTS 34 IV.4.1 Overview 34 IV.4.2 The policy for the partnerships 35 IV.4.3 Establishment of the partnership programme and network 35 IV. 5 INTRODUCTION OF SOCIAL PARTNERSHIP 38 IV.5.1 The formation of a new type of partnership 38 IV.5.2 The new role of the schools 40 V. IMPACT AND SUSTAINABILITY OF THE PROGRAMME ON THE OVERALL VET REFORM PROCESS 41 V.1 GENERALISATION - FROM PILOT PROJECT TO VET SYSTEM IMPLEMENTATION 41 V.2 STRENGTHENING OF ADMINISTRATIVE AND SUPPORT CAPACITIES 44 V.2.1 The local, county level 44 V.2.2 The national level 44 V.3 THE DESIGN OF A POLICY AND LEGAL FRAMEWORK 45 V.4 THE INVOLVEMENT OF SOCIAL PARTNERS 47 VI. CHALLENGES AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FURTHER ACTION 50 VI.1 CURRICULA 50 VI.2 TRAINING NEEDS ASSESSMENTS 51 VI.3 WIDENING THE SCHOOL-COMPANY NETWORK 51 VI.4 EXTENSION OF REFORMS TO CONTINUING TRAINING - ESTABLISHING REGIONAL TRAINING CENTRES 51 VI.5 TEACHER TRAINING 52 VI.6 SCHOOL MANAGER TRAINING 52 3 3 R09405 Phare VET Reform Programme in Romania/ Final Evaluation VI.7 THE CHALLENGES OF "GENERALISATION" 53 VI.8 POLICY AND STRATEGY 53 VI.9 SOCIAL PARTNERSHIP 53 VI.10 INSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT 54 VI.11 THE CONTINUATION OF FUNDED SUPPORT 54 LIST OF ANNEXES 56 SELECTION OF PERSONS MET DURING THE MISSIONS MAY-JUNE 1999: 57 Ministry of National Education: 57 National Centre for Development of VET. 57 Support staff. 57 Management, staff, students and local social partners of the following schools visited: 57 Members of the following Local VET Development and Zonal Development Committees: 58 Representatives of all Inspectorates of Romania 58 National Council for Education and Continuing Education 58 National Observatory 58 Institute of Educational Sciences: 58 Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Romania: 58 National Agency for Employment and Training: 58 Romanian Free Trade Union of Teachers: 58 City Hall of Bucharest: 58 EU Delegation in Romania 58 ETF: 58 LIST OF LITERATURE CONSULTED: 59 PROGRAMME IMPLEMENTATION' 59 CURRICULA: 59 REGULATIONS: 59 REPORTS OF CONTRACTORS (OTHER THAN GTZ): 59 POLICY AND STRATEGIC ISSUES: 59 STUDIES: 60 TEACHER TRAINING: 60 EVALUATIONS: 60 THE MAP OF Phare VET REFORM PROGRAME 61 LIST OF PILOT AND DEMONSTRATION SCHOOLS 63 ANNEXES 67 List of Abbreviations: COSA = Council for Occupational Standards and Assessment ETF = European Training Foundation FP = Financing Proposal ICT = Information and Communication Technologies MoLSP = Ministry of Labour and Social Protection MoNE = Ministry of National Education NCDVET = National Centre for Development of VET VET = Vocational Education and Training VTS = Vocational Training Standard 4 4 R09405 Phare VET Reform Programme in Romania/ Final Evaluation I. INTRODUCTION The final evaluation of the Phare VET Reform Programme in Romania' took place in May and June 1999. A first mission took place from 9th to 20th May, during which the two evaluators had an intensive visit programme including 14 pilot and demonstration schools, meetings with 9 zonal and local development committees, and a series of meetings with key representatives of the Ministries of National Education and of Labour and Social Protection, the National Centre for Development of VET, the National Agency for Employment and Training, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the trade unions, the National VET Council, the Institute for Educational Sciences and the National Observatory. A follow-up mission was conducted in the period 14th to 18th June, including discussions with further representatives of the Ministry of National Education. and the European Training Foundation. In addition to the above discussions the evaluators have had access to all documentation produced in connection with the planning, implementation and evaluation of the Phare programme and documentation related to the educational reform in Romania in general. The evaluators would like to express their thanks to the organisers who facilitated the numerous visits and meetings, to the management, staff and students of the 14 schools visited for their kind reception and hospitality and to all the representatives of the social partners and of the national institutions and bodies who generously gave of their time to answer all questions. We give our apologies to the 61 schools that were not visited due to the time constraints. A special thanks to the translators and the driver who worked very hard during the missions. And last but not least we would like to thank also B&B Comp. for their professional support in producing this report. I The Terms of Reference are attached as Annex 1. 5 5 R09405 Phare VET Reform Programme in Romania/ Final Evaluation II. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY II.1 General findings 1. The Phare VET Reform programme in Romania must be characterised as a success in relation