5 Quality Areas

The educational outcome of schooling depends to a large extent on the success of teaching and learning, the main activities teachers and pupils engage in.

Teaching covers the school-specific implementation of curricular requirements, the design of classroom instruction and the educational approach of teachers. Key elements in this process are the relevance of educational contents, the recognition of pupils as independent persons, their furtherance and support, the consideration of gender-specific aspects, the culture of performance requirements, feedback and performance assessment.

Learning includes i.a. pupils' willingness to learn and self-reliance, building a sustainable knowledge base, mastering learning techniques, understanding how things interrelate, applying acquired knowledge to new tasks, self-competence and social skills, and delivering performance.

Self-evaluation focuses on the analysis of the performance, potentials and progress of pupils, and of the teaching and learning options offered at the school as a whole.

This area has to do with subjective well-being, the social climate in the class and at school, the way minorities, problems and conflicts are handled, the design of the school premises and the school environment, extra-curricular activities, and with the richness of school life.

This refers to the involvement of parents and pupils in school life, satisfaction with teacher-parent-pupil relations, co-operation with non-teaching staff at the school, communication and co-operation with the school inspectorate and the school administration, as well as with external institutions.

This area includes the management, organisation and administration of the school and the way in which resources are used, teachers' educational counselling skills, styles of leadership, the assignment of tasks among the teaching body, as well as information flows and decision-making processes at the school.

In this area, the focus lies on the accomplishment of given tasks and co-operation among the teaching staff, educational development and curricular work at school, readiness for innovation, and systematic staff development measures.