Una ruta hacia un sistema de aseguramiento de la calidad en Educación Superior: la experiencia del proyecto TRALL

Abstract

The article presents the structure of the evaluation design – and main results – used in the project of international cooperation between Europe and Latin America called Alfa III – TRALL (Transatlantic Lifelong Learning. Rebalancing Relations) and the experience of one project partner, the Universidad Católica Boliviana, has been adopted as an example. The design implemented meets the need to evaluate the quality of lifelong learning courses promoted by 15 Latin American universities, partners of the project, and aims to trigger virtuous circles of progressive improvement in the efficiency and effectiveness of the training offer. This evaluation design has been defined as a «systemic model» based on analysis of the methodological framework that currently characterizes the field of educational evaluation research, connecting – from an ecological perspective – multiple indicators of the quality: input, in context, in the process, output. Furthermore, the evaluation design has been proposed, since its beginnings, participation and discussion among all partners to be as a system of quality training and transactional – where the analysis of gathered information is an opportunity to achieve collective moments of intersubjective interpretation of data – to facilitate a democratic made decision in order to improve and redesign the courses. According to the main results and the meta-evaluative reflection on the implementation of the quality system to 22 courses there are positive evidences, recognized by all partners, as some critical elements that, to improve the lifelong learning processes, will be assumed to redesign the quality system.

Keywords

• educational evaluation research
• higher education
• latin america
• lifelong learning
• quality assurance
• america latina
• apprendimento permanente
• educazione superiore
• ricerca valutativa in educazione
• valutazione della qualità