Educational Quality Audit

Accreditation Councils are all about quality assurance in the academic programs. All the mechanisms of accreditation concentrates on the quality for which Quran uses and stress words ihsan and itqan (good and quality). National Accreditation Council for Teacher Education (NACTE) like other academic accreditation councils is also working to ensure quality in teacher education. The accreditation processes of NACTE concentrate to ensure the quality in terms of infrastructure, facilities and instructional process deemed necessary for competent teachers' and graduates in the field of education. The study is divided into two sections. Section 1analyzes the NACTE and its accreditation standards in the light of Quran and Hadiths while section 2 concentrates on the challenges faced by NACTE in ensuring quality of teacher education and the available opportunities that NACTE could utilize for the sustainability of NACTE and teacher education in Pakistan. The study is based on mixed-method research design following sequential triangulation techniques adopting pragmatic paradigm of research. Data collection instruments used in this study was in-depth interviews and a structured questionnaire from teacher educators of public sector universities of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The results and recommendations are discussed at the end of the study.

"Volume editors: A. Papastamatis (University of Macedonia) E. Valkanos (University of Macedonia) G. K. Zarifis (Aristotle University of Thessaloniki) E. Panitsidou (University of Macedonia) ISBN: 978‐960‐243‐668‐4ERIC Index number: ED508475111paper and poster presentations. 1090 pages. Directly available on line via ERIC at: http://www.eric.ed.gov/PDFS/ED508475.pdf"
The network’s first conference meeting was held in Thessaloniki, Greece (6-8 November 2009) at the University of Macedonia, and it was entirely devoted on issues of quality on the education and training of the adult educator in Europe. The meeting was a forum for exchanging theoretical considerations and empirical evidence, between researchers studying the different roles and tasks of the adult educator and trainer and the ways that these are assessed. The meeting also addressed issues relating to the quality of adult educators’ training (initial and continuing), their professional development as well as how these parameters could contribute to the overall quality of adult educational provision in Europe today.

In total 4 keynote presentations, 83 paper presentations and 18 e-poster presentations in eleven thematic workshops (divided in 5 parallel sessions) took place during the conference, as well as eight special presentations were made in six (6) plenary sessions. Based on the thematic workshops and the plenary sessions of the conference, the structure of this e-book is the following:

• Keynote Presentations
• Paper Presentations
1. Quality assurance: Validating effectiveness for adult educators and trainers.
2. Professionalisation & professional development: Not anybody’s business.
3. Confronting quality: Theoretical assumptions and practical challenges.
4. Quality in educational provision: Redefining basic assumptions.
5. Becoming an adult educator in Europe: Some biographical perspectives
6. Quality under review: Policy development issues.
7. Developing competence and skill: New roles and new challenges for adult educators today.
8. The role of the University in providing quality education and training: Unfolding the HE agenda.
9. Initial and continuing training of teachers and teacher trainers: From initial preparation to in-service training.
10. In-service training of adult trainers: The role of the enterprise and the role of the individual.
11. ICT and quality provision: Issues of identity and personal knowledge management.
• E-Poster Presentations
1. Educating the adult educator: European perspectives
• Plenary Presentations
1. Highlights of major European initiatives and projects
 PASCAL Universities' Regional Engagement project (PURE).
 Self-Evaluation in Adult Life Long Learning (SEALLL).
 Grundtvig International Network of Course Organisers (GINCO).
 Promoting Active Learning and Ageing of Disadvantage Seniors (PALADIN).
 Study on Key Competences for Adult Learning Staff."""

Teachers’ evaluation is a crucial issue directly linked to the career and
professional empowerment of teachers. Regarding this issue, since 1982,
the Greek educational system has experienced numerous educational
changes and reforms, which, interestingly, have all been unproductive.
These failures have never been convincingly interpreted by experts,
and usually they are perceived as merely being rooted in political and
ideological reasons. However, besides the political aspects, in our
opinion, the weak points of this field, in realising reforms or interpreting
phenomena, are the underpinning theoretical and philosophical views
and the methods applied. Contrary to the traditional ways, the present
chapter, being part of a wider project, attempts to introduce a different
epistemology in the field, fostering the complex dynamic system (CDS)
perspective. The present endeavor is a qualitative approach aiming
to identify the impact of the long-term absence of an evaluation system
affecting teachers’ professional identity. Methodologically, teachers’
views on evaluation issues are explored through discourse analyses
of focus group interactions.