A avaliação institucional como instrumento de gestão e consolidação do projeto pedagógico institucional na educação superior

O presente artigo relata evidências a partir dos processos de avaliações externas que demonstram o quanto a avaliação institucional subsidia a gestão e a consolidação dos Projetos Pedagógicos Institucionais nas IES. Aborda as possibilidades de articulação entre a autoavaliação e o planejamento institucional, mediante processos de regulação e/ou emancipação. Trata-se de um relato de experiência, fundamentado nas avaliações in loco vivenciadas pelas pesquisadoras como avaliadoras ad hoc do INEP-MEC. O estudo traz breves considerações acerca das percepções das avaliadoras sobre a concepção e prática da avaliação institucional, o que implica afirmar que neste processo evidencia-se ainda práticas mais voltadas para a regulação do que a emancipação. This article reports evidence from external evaluation processes that demonstrate how institutional evaluation subsidizes the management and consolidation of Institutional Pedagogical Projects in HEIs. It approaches the possibilities of articulation between self-assessment and institutional planning, through processes of regulation and/or emancipation. This is an experience report, based on the on-site evaluations experienced by the researchers as ad hoc evaluators for INEP-MEC. The study brings brief considerations about the perceptions of the evaluators on the conception and practice of institutional assessment, which implies affirming that in this process it is still evident practices more focused on regulation than emancipation.

Socio-Institutional Drivers of Groundwater Contamination Hazards: The Case of On-Site Sanitation in the Bwaise Informal Settlement, Kampala, Uganda

Socio-institutional factors are poorly addressed in the risk assessment of groundwater contamination. This paper contributes to the development of a socio-institutional assessment framework based on a case study of contamination by on-site sanitation (OSS) in an informal settlement of Bwaise (Kampala, Uganda). We conducted a snapshot survey of the recent extent of groundwater contamination by OSS using microbial and hydro-chemical indicators. Through transition arenas and key informant interviews, we investigated the socio-institutional drivers of the contamination. Overall, 14 out of the 17 sampled groundwater sources tested positive for Escherichia coli during the wet season. Nitrate concentrations at four sources exceeded the World Health Organization guideline value (50 mg/L), attributed to OSS. Despite the high contamination, the community highly valued groundwater as an alternative to the intermittent municipal water supply. We deduced six drivers of groundwater contamination, including land-use management, user attributes, governance, infrastructure management, groundwater valuation, and the operating environment (“LUGIVE”). Qualitative indicators for each of the drivers were also construed, and their interlinkages presented in a causal loop diagram, representing a socio-institutional assessment framework. The framework can help policymakers and the community to analyze various socio-institutional control levers to reduce the risk of groundwater contamination by OSS in informal settlements.

Institutional Assessment of the Impact of Microsoft Excel on Data Base Management in Federal College of Freshwater Fisheries Technology, Baga, Borno State, Nigeria

The study is an effort to assess the impact of Microsoft Excel on data based management in Federal College of Freshwater Fisheries Technology, Baga – Maiduguri, Borno State, Nigeria. Data for the study were obtained through face-to-face interview and the used of check list from 1st to 31st March, 2021. Both qualitative and descriptive techniques were employed in the analysis of the data. The result shows that Microsoft Excel was used to calculate, analyze, visualize, processes data and information by the use of columns and rows with formulas. Enables statistical thinking and enhances understanding of important ideas in statistics. It is recommended that holistic approach should be made in the development of information communication technology (ICT) in all spheres of governance in the study area and environs and also at the apex level; Agricultural Research Council of Nigeria (ARCN).

Should science be evaluated?

This article discusses different approaches to the evaluation of science and higher education. The author distinguishes three types of research assessment: one where substantial evaluation is an integral part of the research itself, a moral one, which implies ethical assessment of the research procedures and its implications, and a utilitarian assessment, which refers to the weighting of the research costs and benefits for society. It is this third type of evaluation that the article discusses in details. The author demonstrates that instead of evaluating costs and benefits per se, utilitarian evaluation today is based upon bibliometric indicators, which provide false expectations of objectivity and quantifiability and about the democratic nature of such research assessment. Bibliometric research indicators form also the basis of the institutional assessment of higher education organizations in the framework of world university rankings. The article problematizes the simplified concept of research university, in correspondence to which higher education institutions are evaluated according to the conducted research. The author claims that quantitative evaluation motivates individuals and organizations to adopt a certain type of opportunistic behavior, harmful for the organic development of research.

Effect of service quality on student-inspector satisfaction at the training center for educational inspectors in Rabat, Morocco.

In theory, we all know that if students are satisfied, then training centers do provide a better quality of service. But what about in practice? The purpose of this research is twofold. On the one hand, we aim to assess the quality of training inspectors in Morocco, through perceived quality and student satisfaction. First, we investigate which quality attributes need to be further targeted in the training device (TD) at CFIE. Second, we test for potential causal relationships between perceived service quality and student satisfaction. Our starting assumption is that there is a causal link between "service quality" and "satisfaction." To this end, the SERVPERF tool was adapted and administered to a sample of student inspectors who received training services at the CFIE in Rabat. We support the literature's argument that performance (SERVPERF) is the best predictor of service quality. The results shows that the perceived quality of services provided by CFIE is relatively acceptable. Nevertheless, it shows a strong need for improvement, especially in the dimensions of Tangibility and Empathy. All five dimensions of SERVPERF significantly impact student-inspector satisfaction at CFIE. The SERVPERF scale is a valuable aid in the institutional assessment of the TD, and in the implementation of a culture of continuous improvement within the CFIE. However, when used alone, it can lead to the omission of other factors that explain satisfaction. It would therefore be appropriate to couple it with other instruments such as SERVQUAL, HEDPERF, PAKSERV or HiEdQUAL in order to verify which ones are adapted to the context of education inspection in Morocco.