Commitment to quality
Measuring indicators is a healthy practice. It helps us understand the perspective of our Educational Community. We conducted a survey this year that evaluated the satisfaction of our students, parents and employees.
Democratic participation is fundamental at Deutsche Schule Medellín. For that reason, we want to understand the perceptions of those who are a part of the Educational Community. And we do that through surveys and studies. In that sense, Steuergruppe (Pedagogic Quality Group) conducted a survey to evaluate the satisfaction of our students, parents and employees.
Sonia Garcés, one of the members of Steuergruppe, explains that this is part of the Quality Orientation Framework, which was created to fulfill the quality expectations in German schools abroad. “Besides, this is a thermometer that allows us to see what perception our community has about the school, so that we can implement improvement strategies in the future”, Sonia expresses.
The results of these studies are useful because they help us understand what we are doing well and what we need to improve. As Anke Käding, School Principal at Deutsche Schule Medellín says: “These measurements help us offer very good classes”. To that, Carlos Cabrera, Head of Human Resources at Deutsche Schule Medellín, adds: “At School, we are certain that we cannot improve what we don’t measure”. For that reason, these surveys usually offer information that can be compared through time. “Our intention is not to compare ourselves to other schools. On the contrary, these surveys allow us to see how we have changed and improved through time”, adds Mr. Cabrera.
In particular, the satisfaction survey for students, parents, and employees, measures their perception on academic matters, wellbeing, school coexistence, infrastructure, and others. “In summary, we want to know how the community perceives us and how satisfied they are with the resources that the school offers” Mrs. Garcés says.
“As a result of listening to their opinions, we want the Educational Community to feel heard, we want to create a good organizational environment, and we want to increase sense of belonging towards the institution” Anke Käding states.
Usefulness
The results of the survey are useful when it comes to making decisions that will improve the educational experience. Even more so, now that the school is getting ready for the BLI inspection 3.0 (specialized inspection visit carried out by the Zentralstelle für das Auslandsschulwesen or Central Office for German Schools Abroad). “We are currently developing a workshop methodology that gives all our employees, the opportunity to build our future together -Zukunftswerkstatt-.
The information in this survey will allow us to understand if the proposals of those workshops are aligned with what the community perceives” Sonia Garcés adds.
Besides, “our main goal with these measurements, is to show transparency. Our aim when listening to their opinions, is to make the community feel heard, to create a good organizational environment, and to increase the sense of ownership in our institution” Anke Käding explains. “Measurements allow us to make informed decisions based on facts and data. Those are key to understanding our reality and acting in favor of sustainability” Carlos Cabrera concludes.
Other measurements
Apart from the satisfaction survey, Deutsche Schule Medellín also has:
1. Institutional Self-Evaluation for Private Educational Establishments: carried out by the Ministry of Education.
2. Express yourself: led by the Academic Committee of representative parents. It measures the level of satisfaction from a parents’ perspective.
3. Psychosocial risk evaluation: carried out by Human Resources. It determines the level of risk to which employees are exposed at School.
4. Organizational environment: it measures our employees’ perspectives regarding performance characteristics at work.