QOLIVET: Exploring Quality of Life: Research and Analysis Findings
QOLIVET is an Erasmus + funded project aimed to improve the quality of Vocational Education and Training (VET) and Community Care provision across Europe and raising its impact on the Quality of Life (QOL) of students and end-users.
The main outputs that emerged from the Research and Analysis activity of the project can be found here.
The partners undertook two main strands of activity. On the one hand, a systematic search was carried to identify publications and websites that addressed Quality of Life and particularly what were its dimensions and how to measure it. On the other hand, documentary research and stakeholder consultations in each of the participating member states to assess the extent that QoL was prioritised in terms of policies, practice, service contracts and evaluation. The outputs of these activities are described in more detail below.
National Reports
The aim of the national reports is to provide a context for the QOLIVET project and document the baseline status of quality of life as a recognised service outcome in the four participating Member States, Ireland, Portugal, Slovenia and Spain. They are based on interviews with national actors and stakeholders and include a review of national policy and practice.
The national reports present a perspective of the extent to which quality of life impacts are reflected in:
- The priority assigned to QoL impact as a performance indicator for services in mainstream and specialised vocational education and training (VET) and community care (CC) sectors
- The acceptance of QoL as a service outcome in disability specific and mainstream services
- The extent to which current program evaluation measures address aspects of QoL
- The priority assigned to components of QoL in program specifications
- The current status and practice of inclusive learning strategies.
The reports reflect the views of designated agencies and national disability representative organisations on the relevance of QoL as a VET and CC outcome, the level of acceptance of QOL as a service outcome in disability specific and mainstream services and the challenges to introducing inclusive learning and QOL in mainstream services.
Synthesis Report
The aim of the synthesis report is to present an overview of current thinking and research in the areas of inclusive learning and QoL and to provide a basis for developing the intellectual outputs of the QOLIVET project. There are:
- Developing a training program for VET professionals and community support staff
- Creating a good practice resource and portal
- Producing a set of guidelines for enhancing the QoL impact of both mainstream and specialist services
- Designing assessment tools to allow organisations to develop key performance indicators reflecting the perceptions of staff and participants about the impact of a service on QoL.
It is published in two volumes. Volume 1 presents the findings of a systematic approach to searching for international research and policy documents with relevance to QoL impact as a service outcome in the VET and CC sectors. Volume 2 presents a synthesis of the stakeholder consultation at European level and at national level in the four participating Member States, Ireland, Portugal, Slovenia and Spain.
A summary report of Volume 1 is available which provides a synopsis of the findings of the review of research and policy relevant to QoL as a service impact.
Volume 1 presents the findings of a review of policy, practice and research to establish the salience of QoL in the discourse of formal documentation about disability and QoL relating to services such as community care, vocational and occupational rehabilitation, vocational education and training. It also describes current and previous instruments that have been developed to measure QoL outcomes of services. It describes the status of QoL as a service outcome indicator in the health and social care services and vocational education and training sectors; the role of inclusive education and universal design for learning in enhancing QoL outcomes; and provides guidelines for selecting an appropriate measurement took for measuring QoL service outcomes. The Annexes 1-5 provide additional detail on some particularly relevant measurement tools. Annex 6 provides an extract from a report by the European Agency for Development in Special Needs Education on European Patterns of Successful Practice in Vocational Education and Training Participation of Learners with SEN/Disabilities in VET which lists the factors identified through study visits to 26 countries.
Volume 2 presents the findings of the European and national consultation and reviews. Section 1 presents the findings of the European review; Section 2 provides an overview of the national reviews of inclusive learning strategies and QoL; Section 3 summarises the findings of a consultation with national stakeholders; Section 4 explores the potential challenges in raising the priority of QoL as a service outcome at European and national levels; and Section 5 discusses the main conclusions of the European and national rapporteurs. A copy of the national report template is included in Annex 1 and Annex 2 provides additional details on the perceptions of stakeholders on the status of QoL and its components in mainstream and specialised VET and community care.
