Benchmarking Effectiveness in the Educational Development of Three Finnish Universities Using a Multidimensional Evaluation Model (MdE)

Abstract

There has been a tremendous emphasis on improving the quality of teaching in Finnish universities since the middle of the 1990s. Most Finnish universities have significantly increased their efforts, for example, in providing pedagogical training aimed at teaching staff. Finnish universities have also introduced ICT-based tools for learning. Most Finnish universities have also founded educational development units that provide and coordinate the educational development services aimed at university teachers. How can these services be evaluated? Can a multidimensional evaluation model provide adequate solutions for evaluating the effectiveness of educational development services? In this article the effectiveness of teaching development services is benchmarked between three Finnish universities utilizing a multidimensional evaluation model (MdE). The applicability of multidimensional evaluation model is then discussed.

Keywords:

• educational development
• multidimensional evaluation model
• MdE
• benchmarking
• effectiveness
• quality of learning

Notes

12. Stenqvist, Ibid.

13. See for example Kohler, op. cit.

14. Stenqvist, op. cit.

15. See also Kohler, op. cit.

18. Vartiainen, Ibid.

19. Ibid.

20. Ibid.

21. See Brandon, P. R. Stakeholder participation for the purpose of helping ensure evaluation validity: Bridging the gap between collaborative and non-collaborative evaluations. American Journal of Evaluation 1998, 19 (3), 326–327. Vedung, E. Public policy and program evaluation. (1997). New Brunswick and London: Transaction Publishers, pp. 69–75. Vartiainen, P. The substance of stakeholder evaluation: Methodological discussion. International Journal of Public Administration 2003, 26 (1), 12.

23. Vartiainen, op. cit., pp. 7–9.

26. Vedung, op. cit., pp. 115–117.

28. See also Brandon, op. cit., pp. 333–334.

32. Ibid.