Evaluation is often a neglected aspect of international work. Even when external funding necessitates having an evaluation strategy it is frequently left to the end of the project when it is too late to make changes or entrusted to an external evaluation process.

This section illustrates how a more dynamic approach can help to improve the work of the international partnership and strengthen the links between the institutions. It also focuses on self evaluation where the participants in the project help to prepare the evaluation criteria and manage the evaluation strategy. There are three key questions which define self evaluation:

			How are we doing?
			How do we know?
			What do we do next?

It is also important to consider the potential impacts that international work can have on both teachers and pupils because it is these impacts which the partnership will need to evaluate. Impacts might be in terms of:

			Pupil understanding (about a particular issue or a country)
			Standards (measured in a variety of ways)
			Professional development of teachers
			Others suggested by the partnership

An international partnership might have some impacts which are common to both schools plus others which are more important to one of the institutions.

Evaluation at the start of the partnership

To be effective self evaluation needs to be on the agenda from the very start of the school partnership. It is therefore useful if both partners have a similar view of what evaluation actually means within an educational context and both are committed to an ongoing approach rather than simply looking back at the end of a particular project. Evaluation supports international work by:

			Checking whether the agreed objectives are being met
			Bringing achievements into the open and providing opportunities to celebrate success
			Identifying areas for improvement where things have not gone well
			Simplifying future decision-making

Evaluation is mostly used to find evidence of progress and achievement and to help develop the next step in a project. If evaluation strategies are present from the start of a project, it can help to simplify:

			The creation of the project
			Consultation with partner schools
			The completion of any application forms
			The development of the project
			Report writing

However it is important to remember that it is impossible to evaluate everything. The schools involved in the link need to select the areas they want to focus on, the tools they are going to use and the staff and/or pupils who will have responsibility for managing the evaluation in each institution. It is also useful to look ahead and work out when different parts of the evaluation process should take place – perhaps at a partnership meeting or during a videoconferencing session.  

Stages in evaluating international work

The following list could be applied to any discrete activity such as a curriculum project or a pupil visit:

1. Identifying the aims and objectives of the project or activity
2. Agreeing the priorities of the evaluation
3. Analysing the present situation – how are we doing?
4. Planning for evaluation- who will be responsible for collecting the evidence or data?
5. Defining the indicators, choosing the right instruments, asking the right questions – how do we know?
6. Analysing and interpreting the evidence or data
7. Managing change – what do we do next?
8. Incorporating the findings into a final report (if one is required)

In order to detect any progress or a particular effect it is vital to know both the original situation and what the school link hopes to improve or change. Some examples are:

			Attitudes (environment, food, social…..)
			Knowledge (citizenship, language…)
			Skills (presentation, ICT, communication …)
			Visibility of the project at school

Every international project is different so the list may change considerably from one school partnership to another. School partnerships are essentially about the impact of the international dimension work on school pupils so it is important to ask the question:

How do we know about the impact?

Evaluation can be applied to processes (co-operation, communication, methodologies), to products (performances, publications, websites) and to effects (on knowledge, skills, attitudes).  It can also be qualitative or quantitative. The following list gives some indication of the range of materials and activities which can be generated by a partnership and are worthy of evaluation:

			Statistics of participation in partnership activities
			Partnership chronology
			Questionnaires
			Emails between staff
			Emails between pupils in partner schools
			Photo of a display
			Sketch and/or report from a pupil who has gained a lot from the school link
			Calendar showing partnership events
			Schedule of a visit
			Assembly schedules highlighting partnership events
			Project reports
			Evaluation report
			Press cuttings

Evaluation instruments

The following list provides a selection of instruments but a more complete list may be found at: http://www.mice-t.net/mice.html

			Questionnaires
			Interviews
			Observation
			Participation
			Document and product analysis
			Group discussion
			Report back, presentation
			Diary

Using the results to make changes

The outcome of most evaluation activities is likely to be a mixture of the positive and negative. It is important firstly to celebrate the positive things, perhaps at a project meeting but also to adapt any longer term plan to take account of the negatives and to make changes.

With thanks to:

Chris Williams (Director of the Language College, Lincoln Christ’s Hospital School) who made a presentation on Evaluation at the World Links and Partnerships Conference in March 2006.

Guy Tilkin (Landcommanderij Alden Biesen, Belgium), Co-ordinator of two EU projects on the theme of school self evaluation which have applications for all international school partnerships.