This publication consists of two articles: "Evaluation in Bilingual Education," by James Burry, and "Desegregation and the Rights of Hispanic Students: The Los Angeles Case," by M. Beatriz Arias. In his paper, Burry used three methods for identifying bilingual evaluation needs. First he reviews Federal/State requirements for…

The six chapters of this issue consider how language shapes the meaning of social policies and programs that are evaluated. Offers interdisciplinary perspectives on these language issues and highlights the practical issues involved in language function in evaluation. (SLD)

Noting that Lekotek means "play library" in Swedish, this brief report describes the Lekotek Center, a resource and support center for the parents of disabled children under the age of five, which is affiliated with the Galesburg (Illinois) Public Library. Background on the Lekotek organization, whose goal is to integrate children with…

Eight articles discuss Program Theory (PT) construction issues, administrators as applied theorists, tests of PT, using path analysis to develop/evaluate PT, using PT to describe/measure program quality, developing/testing program classification and function theories, a pattern-matching approach to link PT and evaluation data, and linking PT and…

This special issue deals with the preparation of professional evaluators. Evaluation is considered as a profession that warrants specialized training. Aspects of necessary training and descriptions of current programs are discussed. (SLD)

The extent to which evaluation and auditing have converged on procedures in recent years and the extent to which they remain different are examined in the five chapters of this special issue. Different emphases, the question of collaboration with the subjects of inquiry, and issues of routinized performance are explored. (SLD)

This theme issue discusses the misuse of evaluation. The eight articles all discuss instances in which the evaluation process or evaluation findings were misused. Misuse is usually not the result of methodological issues but rather is an issue of human relations and sometimes of political pressure. (SLD)

A study involving 1,000 minority and limited English proficiency students was designed to gather descriptive data about the population served and analyze methods used to identify potential participants in the gifted and talented program in 15 elementary schools, 7 fifth year centers, and 6 middle schools. A combination of methods was used to…

This eight chapters of this special issue introduce the use of a template to specify program components as a new tool for program evaluation. The template articulates the components needed for program delivery and provides a systematic method for assessing program implementation. (SLD)

The five articles of this sourcebook, organized around the five-component framework for evaluation described by W. Shadish, T. Cook, and L. Leviton (1991), present a new theory of realist evaluation that captures the sensemaking contributions of postpositivism and the sensitivity to values from the constructivist traditions. (SLD)

Two chapters of this issue consider critical multiplism as a research strategy with links to meta analysis and generalizability theory. The unifying perspective it can provide for quantitative and qualitative evaluation is discussed. The third chapter explores meta analysis as a way to improve causal inferences in nonexperimental data. (SLD)

This brief paper reports on an evaluation of 10 community rehabilitation providers, six that successfully closed a facility-based program between 1989 and 1994, and four who are currently involved in a change process. Data collection consisted of participant observation, in-depth interviews, and document analysis. Findings indicated: (1)…

This special issue focuses on several methodological issues in the evaluation of the largest mental health and substance abuse project for children and adolescents conducted at a single site, the U.S. Army's Fort Bragg Child and Adolescent Mental Health Demonstration program. The introduction and seven articles describe this program and the…

Twelve articles discuss the advantages of theory-driven evaluation for: (1) identifying crucial issues; (2) integrating program implementation into evaluation; (3) diagnosing problems in program studies; (4) diagnosing problems in program structures; and (5) enhancing evaluation utilization. Topics include optimizing validity in program and…

This issue and its introductions, postscript, and 11 chapters deal with the special evaluation problems of programs in the developing world. Views of policymakers, practitioners, and evaluators on ways to evaluate development are presented. The collection offers a framework for debate and proposes new emphases for development evaluation. (SLD)