Quality standard
Term
Quality standard
Definition
Technical specifications which are measurable and have been drawn up by consensus and approved by an organisation with recognised and relevant expertise at regional, national or international levels. The purpose of quality standards is optimisation of input and/or output of guidance.
The standard(s) that an organisation sets for all of its key business operations and that help clarify what an organisation expects of its employees in delivering these operations or a client can expect when using the service.
Comment
Quality standards are an important feature of a service’s comprehensive quality-assurance system and criteria are the details identified to reach the set standard(s). This includes quality indicators on the evidence identified to show the service meets set criteria.
They refer to the systems and procedures developed by career practitioners and stakeholders in the career sector that:
• define the career sector, its membership and its services;
• recognise the diverse skills and knowledge of career practitioners;
• guide practitioner entry into the sector;
• provide a foundation for designing career practitioner training;
• provide quality assurance to the public and other stakeholders in the sector;
• create an agreed terminology for the sector
(adapted from [Canadian] National Steering Committee for Career Development Guidelines and Standards, 2004).
See definitions of ‘Quality assurance’, ‘Quality criteria’, ‘Quality indicators’ and ‘Quality system’.
Source
Cedefop (2003). Quality in training = La qualité dans la formation: Glossary. (Working paper / Document de travail). Available from Internet: http://libserver.cedefop.europa.eu/vetelib/eu/pub/cedefop/virtual/quality_glossary_2003.pdf
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http://libserver.cedefop.europa.eu/vetelib/eu/pub/cedefop/virtual/quality_glossary_2003.pdf
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ELGPN Glossary, quality, quality assurance, specifications
Quality system
Term
Quality system
Definition
Organisational structure, procedures, processes, and resources needed to implement quality management. The quality system provides the framework for planning, implementing, and assessing services provided and for carrying out required quality assurance and quality control.
Comment
See definitions of ‘Quality assurance’, ‘Quality criteria’, ‘Quality indicators’ and ‘Quality standard’.
Source
ISO (International Organization for Standardization), (1994). ISO 8402-1994. Quality management and quality assurance – Vocabulary. Geneva: ISO.
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ELGPN Glossary, quality, quality assurance, system, quality management
Quality indicators
Term
Quality indicators
Definition
Formally recognised figure(s) or ratio(s) used as yardsticks to judge and assess quality performance.
Comment
Quality indicators are statistical measures that give an indication of output quality. However, some quality indicators can also give an indication of process quality.
The evidence identified to show that a guidance service meets set quality criteria.
See definitions of ‘Quality assurance’, ‘Quality criteria’, ‘Quality standards’ and ‘Quality system’.
Source
Van den Berghe, W. (1996). Quality Issues and Trends in Vocational Education and Training in Europe. Luxembourg: Publications Office. Available from Internet: http://bookshop.europa.eu/en/quality-issues-and-trends-in-vocational-education-and-training-in-europe-pbHX9896647/
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http://bookshop.europa.eu/en/quality-issues-and-trends-in-vocational-education-and-training-in-europe-pbHX9896647/
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ELGPN Glossary, quality, quality assurance, measures
Quality criteria
Term
Quality criteria
Definition
Independent standards for measuring the quality of guidance provision or services.
Comment
Quality criteria are the indicators used to show that a guidance service or guidance activity meets quality standards.
See definitions of ‘Quality assurance’, ‘Quality indicators, ‘Quality standards’ and ‘Quality system’.
Source
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ELGPN Glossary, quality, quality assurance
Quality assurance
Term
Quality assurance
Definition
Activities involving planning, implementation, evaluation, reporting, and quality improvement, implemented to ensure that guidance activities (content of programmes, design, assessment and validation of outcomes, etc.) meet the quality requirements expected by stakeholders
Comment
Quality assurance for guidance typically involves ensuring that all staff understand what is required of them, that the necessary resources (including sufficiently trained staff) for effective delivery are available, and that performance is reviewed regularly and systematically to identify areas for improvement. A number of independently accredited quality standards (i.e. necessary training of staff) exist that have been developed to support organisational quality assurance.
See also ‘Quality system’.
Source
Cedefop (2011). Glossary: Quality in education and training. Luxembourg: Publications Office. Available from Internet: http://www.cedefop.europa.eu/EN/Files/4106_en.pdf
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http://www.cedefop.europa.eu/EN/Files/4106_en.pdf
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ELGPN Glossary, quality, quality assurance system
Output (quality)
Term
Output (quality)
Definition
Immediate and direct tangible result of an intervention.
Comment
In the context of lifelong guidance, the term ‘output’ is commonly used to refer to a guidance provider’s volumes of delivery, its ‘turnover’, or ‘throughput’: for example, the number of interventions delivered per quarter or the number of interventions per client.
Both ‘outcome’ and ‘output’ refer to the effects or end-results that the project or service is designed to produce.
Source
Cedefop (2011). Glossary: Quality in education and training. Luxembourg: Publications Office. Available from Internet: http://www.cedefop.europa.eu/EN/Files/4106_en.pdf
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http://www.cedefop.europa.eu/EN/Files/4106_en.pdf
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ELGPN Glossary, quality, intervention, output, outcomes
Indicator
Term
Indicator
Definition
Quantitative or qualitative factor or variable that provides a simple and reliable means to measure achievement, to reflect the changes connected to an intervention, or to help assess the performance of a development actor.
Comment
Developing and ageing indicators to assess the performance of both guidance activities and guidance services is an important component in the development of lifelong guidance policy.
See ‘Quality indicators’.
Source
Adapted from OECD (2010). OECD Development Co-operation Directorate (2010). Glossary of Key Terms in Evaluation and Results Based Management. Paris: OECD. Available from Internet: http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/29/21/2754804.pdf
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http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/29/21/2754804.pdf
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ELGPN Glossary, means, quality
Economic and social outcomes of guidance
Term
Economic and social outcomes of guidance
Definition
Guidance has social and economic outcomes: in particular, improving the efficiency and effectiveness of education, training and the labour market through its contribution to reducing drop-out, preventing skill mismatches, increasing job tenure and boosting productivity; and also addressing social equity and social inclusion.
Comment
Economic and social outcomes are usually considered together as the two outcomes are closely linked.
See separate definitions of ‘Guidance outcomes’, ‘Learning outcomes of guidance’ and the definition of ‘Outcome (quality)’.
Source
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ELGPN Glossary, guidance, outcomes, mismatch, social inclusion, quality
Common quality-assurance framework
Term
Common quality-assurance framework
Definition
Set of common principles, guidelines, criteria and tools adopted by a group at a local, regional, national or international level in order to develop and assure quality in guidance delivery and in relation to the qualification of guidance practitioners.
Comment
A more general definition would be a set of common principles, guidelines, criteria and tools adopted by a group at a local, regional, national or international level for the quality assurance of services.
Source
Cedefop (2011). Glossary: Quality in education and training. Luxembourg: Publications Office. Available from Internet: http://www.cedefop.europa.eu/EN/Files/4106_en.pdf
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Links
http://www.cedefop.europa.eu/EN/Files/4106_en.pdf
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ELGPN Glossary, quality, quality assurance, guidance, practitioner