EUROPEAN PILOT PROJECTS FOR EVALUATING QUALITY IN HIGHER EDUCATION: GUIDELINES FOR PARTICIPATING INSTITUTIONS

The need for quality assessment in higher education, particularly in the European Union countries is explained. Four main systems of evaluation having many elements in common but also many differences have emerged in four of the European Union countries. The purpose of the pilot projects described is to reinforce cooperation among existing national evaluation agencies and to disperse and disseminate these methods to the other European Union countries so as to enhance awareness of the need for quality assessment and evaluation in higher education, impart a European dimension to quality assessment and evaluation, enrich national quality assessment procedures, and contribute to the improvement of the basis and the procedures for academic mobility and recognition. The procedures for setting up and conducting pilot evaluation projects in selected higher education institutions in the European Union countries over a period running from November 1994 to December 1995 are detailed.

     

Library Research Success: Designing an Online Tutorial to Teach Information Literacy Skills to First-Year Students

This article reports on a collaborative effort recently undertaken between librarians and faculty at Toronto's Seneca College to develop and implement an online, interactive tutorial for first-year business students enrolled in the College's School of Business Management. The concept for this tutorial arose when library management was approached by the Acting Chair from the College's School of Business Management to partner with them in developing a library tutorial that would be incorporated into the curriculum of this newly created course, and that would accommodate its over 600 first-year students. Library management agreed, and proposed developing a self-paced online, interactive tutorial that would utilize current Web-based technology. The primary pedagogical goals were to increase student knowledge of library resources in general, and business resources in particular, and to increase levels of information literacy and basic research skills. With the help of the College's Centre for New Technology and the Centre for Professional Development, the result was a five-module tutorial entitled Library Research Success that, in addition to its main content, also incorporated hands-on exercises at the end of each module, live connections to the Library's Web site and electronic databases, as well as two assignments, which were submitted electronically to professors at the end of the tutorial by each student, and which composed 25 percent of their final mark. Feedback from both faculty and students has been overwhelmingly positive, and efforts are currently underway to adapt this tutorial to meet the needs of other student groups within Seneca College.     

Teaching Literacy through Braille in Mainstream Settings whilst Promoting Inclusion: Reflections on Our Practice

We would describe teaching literacy through braille as one of the most rewarding and challenging aspects of the role of a Qualified Teacher for the Visually Impaired (QTVI). This article focuses on teaching literacy through braille in mainstream settings whilst promoting inclusion and meeting the social–emotional needs of children who use braille. It aims to share good practice and is based on reflections from our own practice and research carried out by some of the authors. The article considers the impact of vision impairment on opportunities for literacy development, the main challenges QTVIs working in a peripatetic (itinerary) way face, as well as what works well and how we can overcome these challenges. The article describes what characterises good practice in teaching braille, describes effective collaborative work between teachers, other professionals and parents, and analyses how to promote inclusion whilst ensuring pupils access the specialist curriculum and individualised instruction.     

Leading the Local: Teachers Union Presidents Chart Their Own Course

Teachers unions are among the most powerful, yet least studied, actors in public education today. Although public attention focuses on the influence of national unions, the policies that most affect teachers and schooling are bargained by local unions and school boards. Interviews with 30 recently elected local union presidents reveal that these leaders balance competing interests and obligations, from the concerns and priorities of their members to pressures from state and national affiliates. Although these presidents reaffirm the traditional union agenda, most also advocate an expanded agenda of teacher professionalism and more collaborative approaches to collective bargaining and contract management.