Research Dries Verhelst

Abstract

The systematic monitoring of students' cognitive skills, academic performance, and learning gains constitutes a fundamental component of high-quality education (systems). From the very start of their educational trajectory – beginning with entry into pre-primary education and continuing up to the transition into higher education – students pass through diverse developmental phases in which their cognitive capacities and academic performance manifest in varying ways. Monitoring students' academic and cognitive skills not only provides valuable insights into individual learning processes but also serves as an important source of information for policymakers and school teams. In contemporary education policy, the importance of monitoring students throughout their educational careers is therefore increasingly emphasised. Indeed, monitoring represents an essential link within the broader framework of evaluation and self-evaluation, contributing both to the development and to the accountability of teaching and learning. Although a wide range of standardised (test) instruments has become available in Flanders, a comprehensive and integrated overview of their objectives, scope, and mutual complementarity is still lacking. This fragmented situation potentially results in redundancies or gaps, insufficient alignment, increased administrative workload for schools, and suboptimal use of the available data. Against this backdrop, the present project aims to provide Flemish policymakers with well-founded guidance for optimising the monitoring of students' academic and cognitive skills across their entire educational pathway. The project pursues three main objectives. First, it compiles a systematic inventory of the (test) instruments currently available and used in Flanders to assess students' academic and cognitive skills, from entry into pre-primary education through to the transition to higher education. Second, the study documents and analyses how these (test) instruments relate to one another in terms of design, analytical methods, data management, and feedback mechanisms. This analysis yields insights into overlaps, complementarities, and existing gaps. Third, the project develops future scenarios for a more coherent and efficient monitoring approach. These scenarios are informed by international cases. To assess which optimisations or innovations are both practically feasible and policy-relevant, the scenarios are subjected to ex ante evaluation by key stakeholders according to criteria such as effectiveness, proportionality, institutional commitment, and legal compliance. This study thus produces a comprehensive overview of the (test) instruments that exist and are being used within the Flemish education system to assess students' academic and cognitive skills, as well as their interrelations. By formulating evidence-based recommendations, it contributes to the policy-oriented preparation of an integrated monitoring system that not only reduces redundancies and administrative burdens but also enhances the usability and valorisation of assessment data. In doing so, the project provides a substantiated and societally relevant contribution to the further development of Flemish education policy.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Vanhoof Jan
• Co-promoter: Vanlommel Kristin
• Co-promoter: Verhelst Dries

Research team(s)

• EduBROn

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

Education for Sustainable Development is seen by policymakers and scientists, both internationally and in Flanders, as a main driver towards a sustainable future. Embedding Education for Sustainable Development within schools is therefor the focus of research, practice and policy (UNESCO 2020). Yet, internationally validated instruments mapping education for sustainable development within school organizations are not readily available. In this project, we set out to apply and validate the Education for Sustainable Development School Organization Questionnaire (ESD-SOQ) across cultural and geographic boundaries. By answering to what extent the ESD-SOQ is valid and reliable for measuring the characteristics of the framework for the ESD-effective school organization, outside of the Flemish educational context, this research project will address the need for more empirically substantiated ESD research. The main objective of this project is thus developing the ESD-SOQ into an internationally usable and validated instrument, usable for comparative ESD-research.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Verhelst Dries

Research team(s)

• EduBROn

Project type(s)

• Research Project