Erasmus program aims to provide knowledge, experience and insights, which only contacts with other countries can bring.
European students overall value positively experience, learning infrastructure and social integration, as well as improvement of their language skills and learning new languages (Souto-Otero, McCoshan, 2006). They also report having developed new understanding about studies, work and host country.
Students gain European dimension of their studies through teaching by teachers with different education and culture, different teaching methodology and possibility of contact and explore new topics (Patsikas, 2013).
In the research carried out in Latvia (Apsalone, 2012) outbound and incoming students admit gaining new knowledge, improving language skills, getting to know other cultures, obtaining another view at values in life.
However, incoming students also admit that it was difficult to get integrated in Latvian society, make friends with Latvian students. Outbound students made a remark that Integration was better, if the students lived together with host country students. Outbound and incoming students also stated that sometimes teachers paid no or little attention to Erasmus students, participating in their classes. Most Erasmus students prefer to study together with host institution students; however some teachers due to their own unsatisfactory foreign language knowledge offer them to study only individually. The quality of studies in this case in their opinion decreases.
As the main benefits and drawbacks of Erasmus academic and general staff respondents in Latvia mentioned “new skills and experience - preparing lectures and lecturing abroad, experience exchange, acquiring valuable information, need to overcome oneself, if there are problems in communication, need to understand other nations and their traditions in a short period of time” (Interim Evaluation, 2011).
A research, carried out 10 years later (Mūžizglītības programma, 2003) reported very high academic and general staff satisfaction with Erasmus visits, explaining it, among other causes, with high correlation between visit aims and their outcomes. Other reason for high satisfaction with Erasmus teacher mobility is high professionalism of Erasmus teachers. However, there is little evidence on how students evaluate Erasmus lectures, what is Erasmus teacher influence of study course quality in host and also home higher education institutions.
Therefore, our objective is to evaluate the impact of Erasmus teacher mobility on ESP (English for Specific Purposes) study course quality from different perspectives (Erasmus teachers in home and host institutions, Erasmus students in host institutions), using already established and introducing new quality indicators.
As the basis for the assessment of quality in a single study course served quality system, developed on the basis of European Guidelines (the EFQM Excellence Model (EFQM), The Common European Framework for Reference for Languages: Learning, teaching, assessment (CEFR), etc.) by several EU education scientists (Lasnier, 2003, Iske/Meder, 2009; Rudzinska, 2008-2012).
Main qualities of study courses in the abovementioned models are study adequacy, deepness, individual learning, student cooperation and course attractivity.
Along these criteria are evaluated three stages of course development: course aim setting forward, course process and course results. Process embraces teacher activity (different methods and study materials), student activity, assessment, student and lecturer well being in classes. Course results, among other aspects, deal with student and teacher satisfcation.
We will examine how Erasmus classes influence course quality within the described quality model.
The base of the models are mostly learners and teachers, although staff members, employees and society in general can also be considered.
