VPSS Meetjesland

Daffodil Winter Conference 3-5 February 2010, Ostersund - Sweden

From Assessmnet to Intervention for Inclusion

Action oriented assessment needs Action oriented assessment needs

an action oriented assessment an action oriented assessment organisation and managementorganisation and management

Tom Walgraeve, VPSS Meetjesland Tom Walgraeve, VPSS Meetjesland

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VPSS Meetjesland The Meetjesland is a Belgian countryside region between

the cities of Ghent and Bruges, at the border with the Netherlands nearby the North Sea. It covers 1/5 of the province of East Flanders and consists of 13 towns and municipalities with 175.000 inhabitants. http://www.meetjesland.be/talen/engels.html

VPSS Meetjesland is partner of 45 schools: 35 primary schools, 1 special education school, 9 secondary schools

12500 students Middle large PSS, 33 employees: 12 educational and

clinical psychologists, 4 doctors, 5 “social” nurses, 6 social workers, (5 logistic assistents + 1 director).

The fieldworkers are grouped in 7 schoolcommunity teams.

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What can make assessment changes ?

Change can happen bottom-up: inspired and enthousiastic fieldworkers and staff-members help change practice.

Change can happen top-down: policy (e.g. management), laws (authorities).

If enthousiastic and inspired individuals are not sustained by decisionmakers, they

will burn out and their practice will have a lack of impact on the (class)floor.

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Wanted: local/regional decisionmakers in assessment …

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Who are the local

decisionmakers who can

help things change ?

Therefore we need to

know how the

assessment is organised

in the (Belgian) schools.

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1. Schools have an association with a PSS (PSSs) Pupil support Services (= pupils/students counseling) Assessment in order to support teachers, special needs coordination cell

and parents (and the pupil!) to create a goodness of fit between student’s needs and the learning environment.

2. Schools have also an association with Educational Advisors Service: schoolsystemadvisors Supporting the school in realising a regular curriculum, recognised by

the government. Supporting the school in realising differential curricula.

3. Assessment by external organisations: Psychiatry, ambulatory rehablitation centres, university diagnosing

centres, private consultants, etc. No or little grip on the context of the school, classroom the teacher. But:

their diagnostic labels can open or close “doors” in school. Mostly “classifying” (“deficiency”-assessment): is the deficiency large

enough to create ministry-subsidized help ? Some of this services don’t work multiprofessional: it’s a hard job to

cooperate with them …

Assessment in schools of the dutch-speaking community of Belgium (=Flanders)

PSS’s choose for the Action Oriented Assessment (AOA)Why ? Handelingsgerichte diagonstiek: Action Oriented Assessment.

The goal is “action”: what works for this student with this teacher in this school, for this students with this parent ? What is necessary for the future of this student ?

AOA is based on research data on effective schools and effective assessement in schoolcontext.

10 years of field experiments in PSS’s and (primary)schools: what works – positive practices.

A common framework of reference for PSS’s, schools and Educational Advisors Service

New policy in Flanders (dutch-speaking Belgium) and the Netherlands matching “education” to “needs”.

AOA-board of advisors takes the lead. E.g. contacts with the “big four” of national school organisations to make things change.

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Action-oriented assessment: 7 principles

1. takes student’s needs as the principle theme2. is transparant, operating in accordance with systematic

procedures; monoprofessional if possible – multiprofessional when necessary.

3. is goal-directed; aims at solving problems & recommendations (in school, at home)

4. uses a transactional frame of reference: the student at home, in school, in the assessment room.

5. gives the teacher a central role: the assessment results has tot make the teacher say: “Yes, I can (and I’ll do it from now on…)”

6. promotes partnership with the teacher, parents and child7. focuses on positive aspects of child, teacher, peers,

school and parents: avoiding labels. We are optimistic: we believe this can change !

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How does the management of VPSS Meetjesland try to consolidate AOA in the organisation?

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Challenge: the AOA-practicer needs an AOA-organisationWhat works ? The management level has to the decide that the mission

of the organisation is AOA. The masterplan contains AOA-priorities.

The financial investment-plan contains a “AOA-chapter”: systematic investments in assessment-tools and training, according to the AOA-principles.

Reorganisation of the tasks Before: 45 assessment teams (28 fieldworkers !...) for 45

schools. Regular assessment-teamconsultation is impossible. Teammembers are working “apart”.

After the reshuffle: 7 assessment teams for 45 schools and multiprofessional teamconsultation is guarantueed every two weeks.

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HRM: All the membres of the management staff and

the assessment staff have tasks to realise AOA.

The team-managers have to support AOA in coordinating and coaching the multiprofessional teams

The quality-manager has to support AOA in developing and coordinating the quality policy and tools.

The AOA-coordinator supports the implementation of new procedures, tools, …

The team-members (schoolpsychologists, social workers, doctors and nurses) have to practice AOA.

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Challenge: the AOA-practicer needs a AOA-organisation (sequel)

Evaluation of the assessment-team and the individual diagnostician: is the assessment needs-based and action oriented ?

Are the collected data relevant ? What is the question ? Will things change for the student after the assessment ?

Why do we need to have this assessment: if we know that …, we can decide on …

Do the collected data allow to create goal-directed recommendations: insigt into learning, motivation and behavior, information for student, parent and teachers, shared targets

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Challenge: the AOA-practicer needs a AOA-organisation (sequel)

The digital student-counseling file-system: Only input of biometric and psychometric results

is possible ?! The digital file-system must work with AOA-

stages, “asks” student and ecological information, “asks” risk factors and protective factors etc.

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Challenge: AOA needs AOA-oriented schools and AOA-oriented Educational Advisors

What works ? Schoolmanagers, special needs coördinators and

educational advisors claim the AOA-principles. The studentscounseling by the school is working

according to the 7 principles of AOA Same mission and same language Shared training: schoolmanagers,

specialneedscoordination, PSS and Educational Advisors (80 persons, 4 days a year)

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Challenge: AOA needs AOA-oriented schools and AOA-oriented Educational Advisors (sequel) Schoolmanagers and educational advisors claim that the regular

curriculum and didactics are as “needs based” as possible. For this reason the PSS-assessment must reveal one or more

clusters of action-suggestions Stimulating the pupil: we accept that the regular curriculum is difficult,

we don’t accept that the student immediately as he currently seems to be, we believe he can change if we understand why >< this pupil is “lazy”, “stupid”

Compensations with e.g. ICT is possible Dispensations:

to realise the regular curriculum the pupil has mild examinations for e.g. spelling etc.

Parts of the curriculum, not necessary for another level are being deleted

Remediation: More time, more moments of exercise, … Rehearsels Scaffolding the learning proces with specialised there internal of external

the school 15

Challenge: partnership with not-AOA-organisations The VPSS M cooporates with regional external assessment

organisations Ambulatory rehablitation centres, private consultants, etc. No or little grip on the context of the school, classroom the teacher Mostly “classifying” (“deficiency”-assessment): is the deficiency large

enough to create ministry-subsidized help?

The VPSS M introduces the regional assessment organisations in AOA. Stage 1: the same vision in dyslexia-assessment.

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After the conference: to do is to After the conference: to do is to reflectreflect

Tom Walgraeve, VPSS Meetjesland Tom Walgraeve, VPSS Meetjesland

To do’s after the Daffodil-winter-conference AOA-advisory board:

Translation Dutch – English: PSS, HGD, PBD To add: optimistic – future – dynamic ? Daffodil summer class AOA-coaching by PVPSS-project (4 PSS-employees cfr.

Beno Schraepen)

Zorgregiowerking Meetjesland Daffodil summer class: decision makers (PBD, RVC) Shared philosophyzing PSS – School – PBS ?

VPSS Meetjesland Daffodil summer class: CTIH ? PSS as learning organisation: organogram cfr Beno S &

Ingrid Hylander18

Indirect remarks1. Exchange Sweden-Belgium: PSS’s ?2. Do Belgian PSS’s have an philosphy on education

and PSS ? Sustaining community ?3. About inclusion: Not to brusque: teachers and organisations must

be prepared. = Delocalisation of SEN-schools to the place of

regular schools ? About all children who have physical, mental,

behaviourial, socio-economic needs to reduce drop-out and exclusion? (Beno S)

About sustaining all members of the schoolcommunity (including teachers)?

4. About assessment: No assessment, no testing ? PSS’s and learning problems: to much

descriptive, to less explaining cfr LPAD ?

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5. About portfolio in Evora A little notebook for all … Public and digital ? Agreements: critics/learning points.6. About consultation – forms? Face-to-face about anonimous students cfr. Ingrid Hylander

Coaching groups of 4 teachers about anonimous students, situations (10 sessions) (cfr Beno S)

SOS-Piet-form: one model, one method, one profesional, … The global child, ecological aspects, … ?

Consultation about students (+assessment)7. About self-pity in Flanders Change depends on laws, on money, on organisations,

on management, … but above all: on people.

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