Quality assurance in adult education aims at internal evaluation and quality development. The umbrella law in adult education is the Adult Education Act. It specifies adult education according to programmes specifically developed for adults. These programmes are officially recognised education programmes for basic schools for adults, officially recognised education programmes for adults that do not give a formal educational qualification, and non-formal education programmes for adults. By law, adult education organisations that deliver officially recognised education programmes must conduct self-evaluation.

The same quality provisions as for mainstream education apply to the delivery of upper secondary vocational, technical and gimnazija programmes, short-cycle higher vocational education and higher education for adults.

Providers of officially recognised programmes in adult education must enter the relevant register at the Ministry responsible for education.

Providers of non-formal education programmes for adults that receive part public funding must be registered to pursue the activity of adult education or have the activity of adult education specified in their own foundation act.

The external monitoring of processes and results is the responsibility of the Slovenian Institute for Adult Education. It systematically develops, across various projects, approaches to quality assessment in adult education and promotes the development of internal quality systems in educational organisations for adults.

The National examinations centre assesses knowledge of adult learners in individual subjects (foreign languages), as well. The evaluation of the adult education system is guaranteed with evaluation studies and research projects.

Responsible bodies

Internal quality assurance

The director of a public organisation for adult education is responsible for the assessment and development of quality, and for the development of annual self-evaluation reports.

The council of the public organisation appoints the quality committee on the proposal of the director, namely, to plan and coordinate the assessment and development of quality.

External quality assurance

Quality assurance in adult education is the responsibility of the same bodies as in mainstream education.

The competence to adopt officially recognised programmes for adult education is vested in the Council of Experts for Adult Education.

The Slovenian Institute for Adult Education (SIAE) is the institution responsible for research in adult education, the development of programmes and methods of non-formal education, the development of learning materials, staff, assessment, and quality.

Approaches and methods for quality assurance

Internal quality assurance

Public organisations that deliver adult education programmes and pursue activities that receive public funds are legally obliged to establish an internal quality system. The system must include ongoing monitoring and self-evaluation.

Public organisations must introduce an online system for internal assessment and quality development. The law does not specify the procedures for internal assessment and quality development in detail.

As part of internal quality assurance, adult education organisations may appoint a quality counsellor. The counsellor is on staff at the organisation and is the one with relevant professional competence who provides counsel to participants in the processes of planning and conducting self-evaluation. The counsellor must take the special training course delivered by the Slovenian Institute for Adult Education. At the national level, the Slovenian Institute for Adult Education set up the national network of quality counsellors. The Ministry responsible for education partly funds the network and training of counsellors.

The Slovenian Institute for Adult Education has established a dedicated webpage, Quality in Adult Education, to support adult education providers. The content is organised into four main areas: the development of quality in adult education, projects and activities, the “Mosaic of Quality” (tools and good practices), and publications, lists and other useful information.

External quality assurance

The external quality assurance in the delivery of officially recognised programmes for adult education, as well as supervision, applies the same methods and approaches as they apply for the evaluation of mainstream education, namely with evaluation studies and research projects, monitoring of innovations introduced and inspection, as well as accreditation of programmes and providers. The adult learners in upper secondary vocational and general education complete their education by taking the matura or vocational matura, as well. Participants in the Basic School Programme for Adults may choose to take the national assessment on a voluntary basis.

Furthermore, the Slovenian Institute of Adult Education has developed additional approaches to external quality assessment, in which educational organisations may participate by choice. The recognition of the Green quality logo or the approach of expert external evaluation are two of them.

The Green quality logo is awarded by the Slovenian Institute for Adult Education to organisations for adult education that meet the defined quality standards. The organisation must provide evidence that it has integrated internal quality processes for adult education into its basic strategic documents, and that it has been systematically, methodically, and periodically conducting self-evaluation. The organisation has the right to use the sign for three years. After the right expires, the organisation must provide relevant evidence of periodic quality assessment and in-depth self-evaluation to renew it.