Continuous educational improvement in Australia and Uzbekistan

The Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) and the Republic of Uzbekistan State Inspectorate for Supervision of Quality in Education have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to collaborate in areas of educational research of mutual interest.

The MoU formally establishes cooperation between the State Inspectorate and ACER, for the purpose of conducting joint research activities and publications, supporting staff exchange, participation in seminars and academic meetings, and exchanging educational research, information and expertise.

The State Inspectorate was established in 2017 to provide quality assurance of the implementation of education programs under Uzbekistan’s Cabinet of Ministers. The Inspectorate’s responsibilities include certification and state accreditation of educational institutions, teacher quality and learning outcomes across all levels of education.

The Head of State Inspectorate for Supervision of the Quality of Education under the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Mr Ulugbek Tashkenbaev, and ACER Senior Research Fellow Dr Ursula Schwantner signed the MoU at the State Inspectorate’s office on 22 May 2019.

Dr Schwantner was on assignment in Uzbekistan in her capacity as the Country Liaison Officer for Uzbekistan’s involvement in the 2021 OECD Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) ‘Core E’ implementation support program for first-time PISA participants. Uzbekistan’s involvement in PISA 2021 is organised and implemented by the National Centre for the Implementation of International Studies on the Quality of Education under the State Inspectorate.

While in Uzbekistan, Dr Schwantner conducted a Capacity Needs Analysis (CNA) to identify capacity assets and needs for the implementation of PISA 2021 and in relation to large-scale assessments more generally. Based on the priorities identified in the CNA a detailed Capacity Building Plan will be developed collaboratively with the National Centre for the Implementation of International Studies on the Quality of Education, as well as a detailed project implementation plan for PISA. In addition, ACER will support the National Centre in designing national level quality assurance systems for implementing PISA in Uzbekistan.