Lithuania: pilot project on external assessment in VET: outcomes and recommendations

Outcomes of the pilot project on external assessment of quality in VET

The pilot project Strengthening quality assurance systems and processes in VET, initiated in 2018, successfully completed its operational agenda in 2023. Its mandate included preparing and carrying out external assessment of quality in VET by engaging teachers, pupils, experts and administrative staff within the lifelong learning system. The project had several outcomes:

• establishment and launch of a monitoring system for VET institutions’ activities and the implementation of VET programmes;
• revision or development of new tools for external assessment of quality in vocational education and training (e.g. PR);
• improvement of the expertise of the institutions’ personnel conducting external evaluations of VET quality;
• completion of an external evaluation of VET quality along with an analysis of its results.

Recommendations on the application of PR and key results

Starting in 2022, Lithuania has been conducting peer-reviews as a form of external quality assessment to support VET institutions being evaluated in the areas of quality assurance and quality implementation. The document ‘Recommendations on the application of PR in VET’, published in 2023, illustrates the results of the systematisation of PR methodology, based on the experience gathered during its implementation. It also presents the main objectives of the PR process:

• promoting quality assurance and quality improvement;
• ensuring transparency and a uniform standard of quality assessment;
• promoting equal opportunities.

The publication also contains the first PR guide, referring to the principles that are important for the quality of the PR process, as well as information on its four stages, aligned with the EQAVET quality cycle:

• preparatory stage (planning): a self-assessment report is prepared by the VET institution to be accessed. A group of peers (evaluators) is appointed, and the PR agenda is set;
• PR visit (implementation): duration 1.5 days. Peers give their first verbal feedback to the VET institution at the end of the visit;
• PR feedback report (evaluation): a final PR feedback report is produced no later than 4 weeks after the end of the visit;
• review: the results and recommendations of the PR are translated into specific plans and implementation measures for the VET institution evaluated.

Finally, the definition of 16 quality areas and seven recommendations for the implementation of the PR process are presented, so that the peer review can be successfully integrated in the external assessment of the VET institutions.

In 2023, PR was piloted in five VET institutions. A total of 19 experts were selected as peers. VET institutions selected two quality areas each, the most popular being ‘green course’ and ‘teaching and learning’. The results of the PR exercise showed that PR promotes networking and cooperation between VET institutions, as well as a culture of quality and trust and the involvement of social partners in quality assurance. The VET institutions that took part in the piloting noted that one of the major advantages of the PR methodology is that VET institutions can choose their own peers. They also remarked that PRs must be confidential, that they should help the VET institutions in their further development, and that continuous up- and reskilling of peers is necessary.

Looking ahead

Research based on a questionnaire distributed to the VET institutions that participated in the PR pilot has showed that 87% of the VET institutions and 85% of the peers surveyed would recommend the use of PR as an external assessment tool. 92% of these VET institutions indicated that PR was beneficial for their institution, while 100% of the peers indicated that PR contributed to their personal development.

Following the completion of the PR pilot implementation in 2023, the Erasmus+ project Digital collegiate evaluation for the green and digital transformation of vocational education and training was launched to digitise the methodology of PR for VET.

Read more

• Project Strengthening Quality Assurance Systems and Processes in VET No 09.4.1-ESFA-V-713-03-0001/
• Recommendation on the application of peer review methodology in VET within the framework of external evaluation of VET institutions