Introductory description

The module is one of a suite which will contribute to professional development activity for established and prospective inspectors of school, college and higher education in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

This particular module introduces students to the purposes, principles and concepts that underpin effective educational inspection, across both General Education and Higher Education sectors. The module examines the collection and analysis of evidence, supporting inspectors as they develop competencies to use evidences to frame inspection schedules and activities. The focus is on scrutiny of institutional data, documentation review, initial and emerging lines of inquiry, inspection planning, pre-inspection judgements and planning initial review meetings.

Module aims

Outline syllabus

This is an indicative module outline only to give an indication of the sort of topics that may be covered. Actual sessions held may differ.

1. Educational theory and practice: pedagogy, andragogy and heutagogy.
2. The purposes of inspection - understanding the similarities and differences between the various inspection models in UAE General Education and elsewhere.
3. Compliance inspections versus evaluations of quality and enhancement.
4. Skills for measuring compliance.
5. Interpreting inspection frameworks.
6. Professional standards; including Code of Ethics, Code of Conduct and behavioural competences. Adherence to inspection protocols and procedures, including the management of organisational expectations.
7. Pre-inspection evidence bases: institutional data, documentation review; formulation of initial lines of inquiry from the evidence; inspection tools and references; initial sampling and triangulation. Constructing emerging findings and finalising pre-inspection judgements.
8. Synthesising all available information into cogent and astute lines of inquiry.
9. Inspection planning and initial review meetings.
10. Personal time management. Clarity over the responsibilities of each inspector, including the mandated timescales for generation of pre-visit analysis and post-inspection reports.
11. Preparedness to internally challenge and be challenged on interpretation of the evidence.
12. Team roles, responsibilities and dynamics.
13. The development of key competencies in the QFEmirates Corelife skills strands; including Literacy and numeracy, Information assimilation and application, Communication, Organising self, Working with others, Mathematical/problem solving, effective use of Technology (ICT) and Societal participation or practice.
14. The evidenced development of specific Knowledge, Skill and Aspects of Competence associated with QFEmirates level 8 qualifications.

Learning outcomes

By the end of the module, students should be able to:

• 1.1 Interpret relevant educational theory.
• 1.2 Critique different models and approaches to inspection, especially in relation to UAE General Education and international comparisons.
• 1.3 Critically assess the value of different types of data and evidences.
• 2.1 Apply QFEmirates CoreLife skills (handling information, communication, organizing self, working with others, mathematical/problem solving, ICT, societal) to pre-inspection activities.
• 3.1 Scrutinise and evaluate a range of contextual information sources to build a sufficient, valuable and reliable evidence base.
• 4.1 Apply subject knowledge, cognitive skills and CoreLife skills in practice while preparing for undertaking an inspection in general, professional and vocational, and higher education settings.
• 4.2 Critically reflect on student’s own pre-inspection practices and those of their peers.

Indicative reading list

Asiyai, R. I. (2020) Best practices for quality assurance in higher
education: implications for educational administration, International Journal of Leadership in Education. Available from https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13603124.2019.1710569.

Baxter, J. (ed) (2018) School inspectors: Policy implementers, policy shapers in national policy contexts, Springer: Cham, Switzerland.
Coffield, F. (2017) Will the Leopard Change its Spots? A new model of inspection for Ofsted, UCL Institute of Education Press, University College, London.

Commission for Academic Accreditation (CAA) (2019) Standards for Institutional Licensure and Program Accreditation 2019, CAA: UAE. Available from https://www.caa.ae/caa/images/Standards2019.pdf.

Gray, A. (2019) European school inspection and evaluation, Bookworm: Retford.

Grek, S. and Lindgren, J. (Ed) (2014) Governing by inspection, Routledge: Abingdon.

Hislop, H. (2017) A co-professional approach to inspection for accountability and improvement: progress and prospects in the Irish context, The Irish Journal of Education, xlii, 3-27.

Laar, B. (2007) Inspection and accountability, David Fulton: Abingdon.

Macbeath, J. (2006) School inspection and self evaluation, Routledge: Abingdon.

National Qualifications Authority (NQA) (2012).The Qualifications Framework Emirates (QFEmirates) Handbook, NQA: UAE. Available from
http://www.qualifications.ae/pdf/QF%20Handbook_v1b_28_Feb_2012.pdf.

National Qualifications Authority (NQA) (2012). Know about National Qualifications Framework (QFEmirates) of UAE, NQA: UAE. Available from
http://www.qualifications.ae/pdf/QFEmirates%20Summary_Feb_28_2012.pdf.

Ofsted (2019).The Education Inspection Framework, Ofsted: London. Available from https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/801429/Education_inspection_framework.pdf.

Ofsted (2019). School inspection handbook, Ofsted: London. Available from https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/843108/School_inspection_handbook_-_section_5.pdf.

Ofsted (2020). Further education and skills inspection handbook, Ofsted: London. Available from https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/861500/Further_education_and_skills_handbook_Jan_2020.pdf.

QAA (2014). The frameworks for higher education qualifications of UK degree-awarding bodies, QAA: Gloucester. Available from https://www.qaa.ac.uk/docs/qaa/quality-code/qualifications-frameworks.pdf?sfvrsn=170af781_16.

QAA (2018). The revised quality code for higher education, UKSCQA/QAA: Gloucester. Available from https://www.qaa.ac.uk/docs/qaa/quality-code/revised-uk-quality-code-for-higher-education.pdf?sfvrsn=4c19f781_8.

QAA (2020). Types of review, QAA: Gloucester. Available from https://www.qaa.ac.uk/reviewing-higher-education/types-of-review [accessed 20 February 2020].

Ryan, P. (2015). Quality assurance in higher education: A review of literature. Higher Learning Research Communications, 5(4). Available from https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/hlrc/.

Wilson, J. (2012) Tales and travels of a school inspector, Birlinn: Edinburgh.

Research element

The principles of practitioner research are embedded in the module. All participants - students, their professional mentors, and inspected institutions - have a stake in the inspection, and students (prospective inspectors) use the inspection environment as the focus of their study, drawing from their observation of qualified inspectors and their own experience of preparing for an inspection. Evidence from ‘real-time’, ‘live’ inspection activity, and practice from previous inspections, both in the UAE and elsewhere, will inform reflection, and will thus improve subsequent practice.

Students will draw from their pre-inspection activities during inspection observation and their learning diaries to summarise their experience in an assessed end-of-module critical reflective narrative.

This narrative will further inform the development of a synoptic summative portfolio and a final overarching critical reflection at the end of the programme to which this module contributes. The portfolio will include personal reflective diaries based upon inspection activities and will gather evidence from participants’ professional practice as well as from a range of activities and resources introduced during the modules.

Interdisciplinary

The module develops interdisciplinary knowledge and practice through the integration of aspects from psychology, sociology and economics in order to explore the current state of general, professional and vocational, and higher education settings in the UAE.

International

The module requires students to engage critically with a number of different international models for the evaluation of institutional condition in general, professional and vocational, and higher education settings.

Subject specific skills

This module is designed specifically as part of a suite of professional development activities for UAE Government employees who will be engaged in inspection activities in general, professional and vocational, and higher education settings.

They will identify and develop effective pre-inspection practices, critically reflecting on both the pre-inspection practices of their peers by observation of an inspection and also of themselves in their first mentored inspection. A number of international case study examples will be used as benchmarks.

In particular students are required to apply subject knowledge, cognitive skills and key skills in preparation for undertaking their first inspection, applying educational theory to practice, and practice to theory.

They will draw from the Institutional self-assessment, publicly-available information, and institutional data sets, bench-marking practice and outcomes with national and international standards, synthesising an initial hypothesis regarding the current state of the inspected institution.

Transferable skills

Within the UAE, the national qualifications framework (QFEmirates) requires that the development of CoreLife Skills is embedded within the curriculum of all levels of the education sector (Section 7.4 of http://www.qualifications.ae/pdf/QF%20Handbook_v1b_28_Feb_2012.pdf). The UAE CoreLife Skills are therefore adopted as the framework for the development of transferable skills within the module curriculum. This will provide prospective inspectors with opportunities to reflect upon their personal skill development through the lens of CoreLife Skills.

The mapping below demonstrates alignment of CoreLife skills with the module learning outcomes:

CoreLife Skills Module Learning Outcomes
Handling information: 1.1; 1.2; 1.3; 3.1; 4.2

Communication: 1.1; 1.2; 1.3; 4.2

Organizing self: 1.1; 3.1; 4.2

Working with others: 1.1

Mathematical/ problem solving: 1.1; 3.1; 4.2

ICT: 1.1; 1.3; 3.1; 4.2

Societal: 1.1; 1.3; 3.1; 4.2