Quality Education Fund Enhances Evaluation on Projects
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The Quality Education Fund (QEF) Secretariat has commenced a series of training sessions for schools on the preparation of project proposals using a new evaluation methodology.
Professor Patrick Griffin from the Melbourne University Private (MUP), Australia, who undertook a consultancy study for the QEF earlier this year, conducted four half-day training sessions yesterday and today (November 29 and 30). Another speaker from MUP, Dr Kelvin Lai, will conduct another four half-day sessions on December 12 and 13.
The training sessions, hosted by the QEF Secretariat for the first time, targets more than 1 000 school principals, vice-principals and subject panel chairs of secondary, primary, pre-primary and special schools in Hong Kong.
The QEF Secretariat plans to incorporate such training sessions as a regular feature in future briefing sessions for prospective applicants for the Fund.
"The QEF introduces the new methodology to evaluate and monitor projects as part of the overall strategy to enhance the quality of its projects and their dissemination potential," a spokesman for QEF Secretariat said.
Following a study of QEF operation in August 2002, the QEF decided to adopt a more evidence-based approach to project evaluation by, first of all, building capacity for such evaluation at the school level, with priority for leadership development for principals and teachers involved in implementing QEF projects.
The QEF is making such capacity building process part of the school-based management of schools and has instituted a number of training programmes to build up schools' capability in this aspect.
"Under the new approach, the impact of a project must be clearly set out and quantified at the application stage and the appropriate indicators and approaches to measurement of the impact must be given," the spokesman said.
"The QEF is seeking to introduce a culture where the applicants take ownership of ensuring the quality of their projects by self-evaluating their projects during the implementation stage, in addition to the usual end-of-project evaluation," he said.
"In the past, project proposals were normally accompanied by expected targets and milestones. The current focus on evaluation will ensure that indicators and measurements for success are also systematically and realistically specified, hence enhancing the quality control of such projects," he stressed.
The enhancement in project evaluation and a direction towards participants or grantees self-evaluating their projects is an important change of direction under the QEF, and should influence schools in adopting a more stringent, systematic and evidence-based approach in evaluating the effectiveness of their other education initiatives.
Since its establishment in 1998, the QEF has sponsored $2.8 billion for over 4 600 projects. Todate, 792 projects are still on-going. The 6th call for QEF applications commenced on November 1, 2002 and will close on January 15, 2003.