DOI kodi: 10.52340/ekonomisti.2026.02.12

Expanded Summary

Quality assurance in general education has become a central concern of contemporary education policy, reflecting growing expectations toward schools in terms of effectiveness, equity, accountability, and student outcomes. In European education systems, quality assurance is no longer understood as a one-time act of control or compliance, but rather as a continuous, multi-layered process aimed at supporting school improvement and sustainable development. Within this framework, external evaluation mechanisms—such as school inspection and authorization—are increasingly conceptualized as instruments that should complement internal self-evaluation and contribute to institutional learning rather than function solely as regulatory tools.

This article explores international, particularly European, experience in the implementation of external quality assurance mechanisms in general education. It examines the key principles underpinning contemporary European approaches to school evaluation, including coherence between internal and external evaluation, trust and shared responsibility, support for professional learning communities, innovation encouragement, dialogue-based evaluation practices, and the use of diverse data sources for informed decision-making. The analysis highlights that effective quality assurance systems rely on balanced interactions between accountability and development, avoiding excessive formalism while promoting reflective practice within schools.

The article further reviews different institutional models of external evaluation applied across European countries, including cyclical evaluation models, risk-based (targeted) inspection approaches, and hybrid systems combining both. Country examples such as Italy, Poland, the Netherlands, Scotland, and others illustrate how external inspection frameworks vary in scope, focus, and methodology. Particular attention is given to the role of school self-evaluation reports, stakeholder involvement, transparency, and the emphasis on student learning outcomes as core indicators of educational quality. European experience demonstrates a trend toward simplified yet conceptually rich evaluation frameworks, prioritizing meaningful indicators over extensive checklists.

In addition, the article situates external evaluation within broader theoretical debates on school improvement. Drawing on international research, it argues that external evaluation does not directly improve student achievement but exerts its influence indirectly by shaping school culture, strengthening self-evaluation practices, improving strategic planning, and fostering continuous professional development. When external evaluation is perceived as supportive rather than punitive, it can act as a catalyst for institutional change and organizational learning.

The Georgian context is examined against this international background. The article discusses recent reforms to school authorization standards in Georgia and argues that the updated framework represents a significant shift toward European approaches. The renewed standards place greater emphasis on curriculum quality, strategic planning, monitoring and evaluation, shared school values, and student outcomes, thereby moving authorization beyond a purely regulatory function toward a development-oriented mechanism.

The findings of the analysis suggest that the effectiveness of external quality assurance depends on its ability to create an enabling institutional environment in which schools are motivated and equipped to reflect on their practices and pursue continuous improvement. In this sense, external evaluation serves not as an endpoint, but as a structured process that supports schools in aligning accountability with long-term development goals, ultimately contributing to the provision of high-quality, student-centered education.

Keywords: general education institutions; quality assurance; external evaluation; inspection; authorization; internal self-evaluation; school development; European educational policy; student outcomes; educational governance.