The OQEA self-evaluation model was first piloted in 2001 with the first four secondary schools participating (group of organizations OQEA 1). The procedure we were developing then was conceptually well thought through and based on theoretical studies and cases of good practice from different European countries. But those of us working on the model at the time were well aware that the real answer about its appropriateness and effectiveness would only come with its use in practice.

Today, ten years since those beginnings, we can say that the OQEA self-evaluation model has grown and developed together with all the OQEA groups that took part in the project over the years. During our work with individual OQEA groups we have always engaged in the principle of reciprocity, which meant that every new group that joined the project could use all the knowledge, experience and tools we had developed with previous groups. Each OQEA group contributed its own knowledge, work and achievements to these joint achievements. From these, each next group benefited, but of course, so did all the previous ones. Over the years we have thus together developed and tested in practice a number of tools and methods for self-evaluation. The fundamental development milestones are listed below according to the phases in which individual groups participated in the OQEA project:

The OQEA project development milestones