Enhancement-led evaluation promotes inclusion, produces learning and strives to influence – read the new publication

Enhancement-led evaluation is a key operating practice at FINEEC and also has a legislative basis. Enhancement-led evaluation is essentially associated with promoting participation, striving for impact and operating in a manner that is positive and values the participants. For the first time, FINEEC has now compiled the premise, definition and underpinning values of enhancement-led evaluation in a single publication. The leaflet will also be published in Swedish and English later.

With the recently published leaflet on enhancement-led evaluation, FINEEC aims to promote and strengthen a shared understanding of what enhancement-led evaluation is. The operating practices of enhancement-led evaluation are diversely visible in FINEEC’s different evaluation types, such as learning outcomes evaluations, field-specific evaluations, thematic and system evaluations, and quality audits.

Enhancement-led evaluation creates impacts and effectiveness

In enhancement-led evaluation, the different stages of evaluation are designed and implemented in such a way that they will as such produce learning, sharing of information and a stronger shared understanding. The outputs of FINEEC’s enhancement-led evaluation activities include participatory evaluation processes, evaluation reports, self-evaluation tools, and analyses and syntheses of the state of education and the education system. This material can also be used in the field of early childhood education and care and by education and training providers, higher education institutions, actors in the field of liberal adult education and decision-makers at the national, regional and local level in the evaluation and enhancement of their activities.

The impacts of the evaluation activities include the understanding, decisions and solutions produced by the evaluation data and competence, as well as the development measures carried out at the national and local level. They emerge during the evaluation processes, based on the results of the projects and from FINEEC’s evaluation activities as a whole.

FINEEC’s desired impact is based on the knowledge and competence produced by the evaluation activities. It is visible as changes in learning and competence, equality and the functioning and continuous improvement of the education system.

Benefits are broadly recognised in feedback

The feedback collected by FINEEC shows that enhancement-led evaluation has been beneficial in the self-evaluation of the institutions’ own activities and in the identification of their own strengths and areas for development.

“It is very healthy to stop to assess the current state and think about possible improvement proposals.” (Teacher in early childhood education and care)

In addition, the feedback indicates that the entire evaluation process, that is, the self-evaluation stage and the evaluation report, together support the development work carried out by the education provider participating in the evaluation.

The feedback collected by FINEEC also indicates that the information produced through enhancement-led evaluation supports national decision-making and helps education providers learn from each other.

“FINEEC’s report highlights the strengths and areas for development in VET and provides information to decision-makers. The education provider can compare its own activities with the strengths and areas for development at the national level.” (Ministry of Education and Culture)

Finland’s enhancement-led evaluation attracts interest across the world

Finland’s enhancement-led evaluation and the evaluation methods have attracted much interest across the world. Although the evaluation model is strongly linked to the Finnish culture of trust and cannot as such be fully copied to another cultural environment, the features of enhancement-led evaluation can be used on a smaller scale. This is what FINEEC has already done in several of its international cooperation projects and evaluations.

Enhancement-led evaluation is the long-term basis for education evaluation activities in Finland and we can also proudly present it to our international colleagues.

Enhancement-led evaluation at the Finnish Education Evaluation Center

Further information:

Sirpa Moitus, Counsellor of Evaluation, tel. +358 29 533 5518, firstname.lastname@karvi.fi

Päivi Kamppi, Counsellor of Evaluation, tel. +358 29 533 5512, firstname.lastname@karvi.fi