Evaluation of early childhood education and care
In Greece, early childhood education and care addresses children up to 4 years old and is provided by public infant/child care structures which are under the responsibility of Municipalities (Ministry of Interior) and the Ministry of Social Cohesion and Family Affairs. Private structures fall under the responsibility of the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs. The operation of both public and private ECEC structures is governed by a Joint Ministerial Decision (see Chapter 4).
Quality Assurance in public infant/child care structures is supervised and monitored centrally by the Municipal Council which is presided by members of the Vrefokomeio of Athens, that is the central Municipal ECEC authority of Athens, as stipulated by the “Standard Regulation of Operation for Municipal Infant/Child and Child Care Centers” (41087/2017), and the amending Ministerial Decision 99310ΕΞ 2024/4056/Β'/2024). Furthermore, the National Council for ECEC of the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, established by min.dec. 30246/2022 is competent for the operation and efficiency of ECEC settings, by evaluating services provided, infrustructure and proposing for the development and upgrading of ECEC staff and structures.
Evaluation of pre- school, primary and secondary education
In pre-school (Kindergartens / 4-6 year old students) and school education (primary and secondary education schools) the formation of an integrated and unified quality assurance system has been completed with the enactment of internal evaluation and external evaluation measures that are developed at three different levels:
- The education system
- The education officials and teachers
- The education units and pre-school education (kindergarden) units
Pre-school education (kindergarden) and school education (grades 1-6 of primary education) is defined by a mutual pedagogical philosophy which is differentiated and adjusted to the respective age group needs and opportunities.
The pedagogical target goals for each one of the above mentioned education levels includes the development of a linguistic, cognitive and social readiness which is required for the smooth transition to the next educational level.
In particular:
At system level the educational policy which is put in effect, is studied, monitored and evaluated by the Ministry of Education and the proposals of the Institute of Educational Policy. The proposals of the Ministry and the Institute drafted by the Institute of Educational Policy are followed by a post-evaluation of the quality procedure by ADIPPDE, the Authority for Quality Assurance in Primary and Secondary Education. The aim of ADIPDE is to improve all relevant quality assurance procedures at regional and national level.
At national system level evaluation, l. 4823/2021 established the conduct of National Diagnostic Examinations, with the aim to monitor the degree of students' response to the knowledge and skills examined. The exams were held for the first time in 2022 involving the 6th grade in 554 Primary schools.
At education leader/teacher level, l. 4823/2021 establishes the evaluation of education leaders, teachers and members of the Special Teaching Staff and Special Support Staff. The ultimate goal is to improve individual performance and the quality of public education and generally the pedagogical, didactic and support work provided by all education and support structures.
At education unit level, the internal evaluation of education work and the implementation of actions for professional developments is foreseen by l. 4692/2020. The external evaluation of schools, which is also foreseen by the same law, presuposes the submission of proposals for improvement for the next school year.
Bodies responsible for Evaluation
Schools
At school level, the school unit is responsible for drafting the annual internal evaluation report. The evaluation report is based on planned educational work and the implementation of professional development actions by groups of teachers (l. 4692/2020).
The evaluation of education officials, general teachers and members of the Special Teaching Staff and Special Support Staff is carried out periodically by two evaluators.
In particular, education leaders are evaluated by two senior supervisors who evaluate knowledge ofthe education system, administrative and educational work, service consistency and adequacy.
Teachers serving in school units are evaluated a) by the Advisor on general and specific teaching modules, b) by the Principal/ Head of the school on class management; service consistency and adequacy l. 4823/2021).
Supervisors of Quality in Education
Law 4823/2021 on the upgrading of schools and teacher empowerment, establishes the position of one quality supervisor per Regional Directorate of Education and per Directorate of Primary and Secondary Education. The primary task of a Quality Supervisor is pedagogical supervision and optimal coordination of education structure in the Directorate concerned.
Quality supervision, primarily involves:
- promoting and putting in place the International Child Convention on Child Rights and the disabled peoples' rights;
- supervising the educational work and
- contributing in the self –assessment of the school unit.
The Regional Council of Supervisors of Quality in Education (PESEP) is responsible for monitoring educational planning, such as curricula’ and and the implementation of educational activities, as well as the support of the operation and education work of schools.
Education Advisors
The mission of education advisors is the pedagogical and scientific guidance of education teachers, as well as the planning and development of innovative initiatives in the field of education. The Education Advisors' tasks also include the teacher evaluation as well as the overall planning for the self-evaluation of schools and the support of all Primary and Secondary education structures.
The Institute of Educational Policy (IEP)
The Institute of Educational Policy (IEP) is a strategic, scientific body which, as mentioned above, supports the Ministry of Education, Religious Affairs & Sports, as well as the National Authority for Quality Assurance in Primary & secondary Education, and particularly on:
- Pre-school/kindergarden, school and post-school education levels
- The transition from secondary education to tertiary education
- Teacher training and
- Tackling school dropout and early school leaving.
Key priority of IEP is to ensure the right to education for all children (l. 4547/2018).
The evaluation system of the educationwork of school units, of education officials, and teachers is monitored by IEP for procedure and efficiency improvement and reliability assurance.
Authority for Quality Assurance in Primary and Secondary Education (ADIPPDE)
The Authority for Quality Assurance in Primary and Secondary Education (ADIPPDE) is an independent body ( l. 4142/2013 and amending l. 4547/2018). As far as its mission is concerned ADIPDDE formulates and specifies the standard procedures, the relevant criteria and indicators for teacher assessment and the evaluation of the education system, especially in the context of corresponding international models. ADIPPDE also delivers an opinion to the Ministry of Education on issues concerning the process of assessing management and other education staff. Objections of education and management officials and other than school principals/directors and assistant directors of school units and laboratory centers, to their evaluation reports are decided upon by ADIPPDE.
ADDIPDE is responsible for the meta-evaluation of the evaluation system of all stakeholders as described above, in order to monitor and control its operation, to continuously improve the relevant procedures, ensuring its reliability and further improving its effectiveness.
Teacher evaluation
The work of publicly appointed teachers is evaluated on a four-year basis a) by the Education Advisor on Scientific Coordination, as regards general teaching medthods and specific instruction according to their school subject and b) by the Director of the school unit, as regards the pedagogical skills and classroom management. Teaching work is also evaluated every two (2) years by the Principal or Head of the school unit and the Education Advisor on Pedagogical Coordination, as regards service consistency and efficiency.
Planning and evaluation of the education work
Quality assurance procedures in Primary education dictate internal evaluation and external evaluation procedures which are carried out on an annual basis.
In particular, pursuant to l. 4692/2020:
The education work, the school-teams actions and research procedures per year are planned in the beginning of the school year during the assembly of the teachers’ board.
The Teacher board in collaboration with the Education Advisor who has the pedagogical responsibility of the school unit, define the school unit's operation areas and priorities. Under the supervision of the school unit's Principal, teachers form teams for actions of common interest. These teams consist of two to five teachers and focus mainly on upgrading their educational work but also their professional development.
The Principal of the school unit and the Educational Advisor who has the pedagogical supervision of the school unit support cooperation and teamwork. The Educational Advisor is responsible for organizing relevant, in-school, training activities and provide the necessary support.
The Principal convenes the teachers' board in regular meetings, held at least once every two months. The aim of the meetings is to discuss, thoroughly, the implementation of the initial instruction planning, the actions and research procedures designed and to evaluate their apparent effectiveness. If necessary, re-planning, redesigning and adjustments are put in place making use of the Education Advisor's remarks. At the end of the school year, the Principal convenes a special meeting along with the Teachers' board to evaluate the school unit, a) as an administrative and educational structure, and b) the progress of the educational work made. The report drafted is included in the minutes of the meeting and its main points are uploaded on the school's website. The report is also reproduced on the special electronic portal of the Institute of Educational Policy.
Education Advisors are informed on the content of the report on the school's annual educational work progress and the action-planning for professional development of each school.
Based on the existing infrastructure and each school unit's specific characteristics, Education Advisors make comments on these reports, as well as suggestions for support and improvement . Proposals referring to school programming reports are taken into account during the current school year. Proposals referring to internal evaluation reports, are taken into account for the next school year planning. These observations and suggestions for each school unit are communicated to the teachers' association/board of the relevant school unit and to the relevant Quality Supervisor/PESEP through the special electronic portal. Moreover, a summary of these comments and proposals of the Educational Advisors are posted on the relevant PESEP s' website without any references to specific schools, as well as in its special electronic portal.
No later than the end of the school year the Quality Supervisor/PESEP takes into account each school's annual reports, as well as the Education Advisor’s relevant comments and proposals and prepares a comprehensive external evaluation report for the relevant Regional Directorate for Education's school units concerning the school's planning and educational work. The annual report is posted in due time on its website and the special electronic portal.
During the drafting of its annual report, ADIPPDE takes into account the above special electronic application content at local, regional and national level and focuses mainly on the external evaluation reports of PESEPs in order to:
- submit to the Minister of Education measures for the improvement and efficient organization of the planning procedure and the school’s internal and external evaluation and
- draft reports with general remarks, especially regarding the needs, difficulties, trends and achievements on the external evaluation reports of PESEPs,
The Institute of Educational Policy uses the above special electronic portal content at local, regional and national level and, if necessary and in collaboration with ADIPPDE, drafts a proposal to the Minister of Education
Monitoring of the education system
In the framework of their operation, various bodies falling under the Ministry of Education, Religious Affairs and Sports have developed information systems for data collection from schools (such as data on teaching staff, student population and flow, building infrastructure etc.). Such data are utilized during the standard operations of the Ministry (transfers, secondments, appointments), or for monitoring education and updating the conventional indicators of education and social development (e.g. OECD indicators).
Furthermore, in the context of upgrading and modernising its information technology infrastructure, the Ministry of Education proceeds to the setting up of a new information technology system (http://myschool.sch.gr) addressed to schools and its decentralized administrative structures.
The new system replaces and integrates formerly existing information technology systems (e-School, e-DataCenter, Survey, Integrated Information System for Personnel Management (OPSYD), etc.) in a single digital environment.
Focused evaluation studies
The central bodies for educational planning in primary and secondary education (the Ministry of Education, the Institute of Educational Policy and the Authority for Quality Assurance in Primary and Secondary Education) implement evaluation studies to examine selected aspects of development of the education system. Issues such as primary and secondary education funding, students’ performance in various subjects, graduates' integration into employment, school dropout rates, constitute indicative examples of such targeted evaluation studies that enable an in-depth examination of issues of critical interest. As far as education policy priorities are concerned, the country implements similar studies at regional or national level. Moreover, Greece participates in similar studies under the auspices of OECD and other European and international networks and organisations.