BESP - Benchmarking of Portuguese Secondary Schools

• Type: Article in International Scientific Journal
• Date: 2011

Authors

Maria Conceicão A. Silva Portela (Author) Other; Ana Maria Camanho (Author) FEUP; Diogo Nóvoa Borges (Author) FEUP

Journal

Title: Benchmarking: An International Journal

Vol. 18 No. 2

Pages: 240-260

ISSN: 1463-5771

Indexing

Scopus - 9 Citations

INSPEC

Scientific classification

FOS: Engineering and technology > Other engineering and technologies

CORDIS: Physical sciences > Mathematics > Applied mathematics > Operations research

Other information

Authenticus ID: P-007-Y8N

DOI: 10.1108/14635771111121694

Abstract (EN): Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the implementation of a web-based platform integrating benchmarking and data envelopment analysis (DEA) for the Portuguese secondary schools. Design/methodology/approach: The benchmarking platform is designed around a set of key performance indicators that are displayed using benchmarking graphs. These indicators are also aggregated through the methodology of DEA to provide a summary measure of performance. Findings: The benchmarking platform developed enables schools to perform internal and external evaluation through a standard model that is based on indicators of school activities. It encourages schools' efforts of continuous improvement and increases society awareness regarding schools' context and results obtained. Practical implications: The benchmarking platform can be useful for schools and general public. For the general public, there is a tool that allows the construction of user-defined rankings online and benchmarking tools that allow the comparison of performance of a specific school with others. In addition to these features, schools have in the BESP platform a repository of historical data, and the possibility to see a set of graphs that show for some indicators their evolution over time. Originality/value: This paper describes a breakthrough in the Portuguese education context. The BESP platform is the first in this context to combine DEA and benchmarking tools in a web-based environment, designed to enable real-time performance assessments.

Language: English

Type (Professor's evaluation): Scientific