Assessment issues in commercial cookery education: a Finnish perspective

This Fellowship focuses on challenges faced by assessors when judging a dish cooked by a student undertaking commercial cookery qualification. Assessment in commercial cookery needs to be driven by the need for quality improvement; primarily to address changes and improvements in our understanding of the assessment processes themselves, and also to respond to industry and student expectations for valid and consistent assessment decisions. Finland with 5.4 million people, a population similar in size to Victoria's, has set a bench mark in the field of competency based vocational education. There is a strong case for strengthening assessment by revisiting some fundamental principles. These include underscoring the need for trainers and assessors to have a good grounding in assessment theory and practice, tools and techniques and providing regular professional development to ensure that these sets of skills and knowledge are maintained. Another crucial finding is the involvement of industry stakeholders in the validation of assessment tools and the implementation of regular and systematic processes for the moderation of assessments.

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