This manual is a practical training guide for graduate and undergraduate research assistants (RAs) working in the Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary. It may also be applicable to research assistants working in other fields or institutions. The purpose of this manual is to train RAs on how to plan and conduct focus groups for…

The Measuring Early Learning Quality and Outcomes (MELQO) initiative began in 2014 in anticipation of a new global emphasis on early childhood development (ECD). Led by UNESCO, the World Bank, the Center for Universal Education at the Brookings Institution, and UNICEF, the initiative aims to promote feasible, accurate and useful measurement of…

Data-driven decision making is part of our everyday lives. For example, we examine our children's immunization charts in order to indicate what vaccinations they have received, as well as what vaccinations are missing and expired. We use information, like a chart, to make decisions about what to do and what not to do. Data-driven decision making…

The Programme for International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) will establish technical standards and guidelines to ensure that the survey design and implementation processes of PIAAC yield high-quality and internationally comparable data. This document provides a revised version of the technical standards and guidelines originally…

This technical report and user's guide is designed to provide researchers with an overview of the design and implementation of the 2009 Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), as well as with information on how to access the PISA 2009 data. This information is meant to supplement that presented in Organization for Economic Cooperation…

This informational packet provides guidelines to help schools make the most of their school grounds and contains the following: a handbook; a loose leaf activity pack; videotape; and poster. The handbook provides information on each stage of the school ground development/change process, offers the rationale for improving school grounds, and lists…

This paper outlines purposes of program evaluation and provides practical information to help individuals from a wide spectrum of backgrounds use evaluation to move their program ahead in a purposeful manner. Wisely moving ahead requires an assessment of an organization's past and present as well as an examination of its assumptions about the…

In March 2002 the Higher Education Funding Council for England issued a report that set out categories of information that should be available within the higher education institution and that should be published as part of the revised quality assurance framework for higher education in England. This document provides final guidance on the…

Not all data for a program evaluation may be equally valuable, and costs of collection may vary when using several methods to obtain data from several sources. An approach to maximize information yield for a fixed, limited budget using a mathematical technique known as linear programming is described and generalized. (Author/CM)

This manual on occupational analysis, developed in Australia, is organized in three sections. The first section provides a framework for occupational analysis (OA) and a discussion of possible outputs from an OA from each of three phases: (1) determining the nature and scope of the occupational area; (2) developing a competencies list; and (3)…

A discussion of the use of generative phonology in the speech clinic, especially with children, begins with an outline of some constructs of generative phonology. First, some notes on phonetic notation and definitions of terms used in nongenerative phonology that have special meanings in this field are presented. Then a discussion of distinctive…

The National Literacy and Numeracy Strategies (NLS and NNS) represent a major government initiative to improve classroom practice and student learning in literacy and mathematics in elementary schools across England. National targets were intended to increase the percentage of 11-year-olds reaching the "expected level"--Level 4--in…

Teachers are being encouraged to use observational strategies for a variety of professional purposes in assessment and evaluation. Observation differs from just "looking" in that the personal experience of looking is transformed into a public event by the systematic recording of what is seen and by subsequent analysis and interpretation.…

This manual was designed for Catholic Relief Services staff who want to improve the health and nutrition component of maternal and child health programs. The methodology presented had already been used in two country programs in Africa, and the experiences in those program evaluations made this guide to participatory evaluation useful for other…

Originating from a manual prepared for a UNESCO workshop, this handbook addresses concepts, approaches, and methods required for planning and management of education at the microlevel. Part I introduces microplanning and management as an important component of overall development efforts, concentrating on education. Chapter 1 describes the…