This article describes Participatory Training Evaluation Method (PATEM) of measuring participants' reaction to the training. PATEM provides rich information; allows to document evaluation findings; becomes organic part of the training that helps participants process their experience individually and as a group; makes sense to participants; is an…

Theory-based evaluation (TBE) is an evaluation method that shows how a program will work under certain conditions and has been supported as a viable, evidence-based option in cases where randomized trials or high-quality quasi-experiments are not feasible. Despite the model's widely accepted theoretical appeal there are few examples of its…

Schools, districts, and state-level educational organizations are experiencing a great shift in the way they do the business of education. This shift focuses on accountability, specifically through the expectation of the effective utilization of evaluative-focused efforts to guide and support decisions about educational program implementation. In…

In the broad field of evaluation, the importance of stakeholders is often acknowledged and different categories of stakeholders are identified. Far less frequent is careful attention to analysis of stakeholders' interests, needs, concerns, power, priorities, and perspectives and subsequent application of that knowledge to the design of…

This paper proposes ten steps to make evaluations matter. The ten steps are a combination of the usual recommended practice such as developing program theory and implementing rigorous evaluation designs with a stronger focus on more unconventional steps including developing learning frameworks, exploring pathways of evaluation influence, and…

Collaborative Evaluation systematically invites and engages stakeholders in program evaluation planning and implementation. Unlike "distanced" evaluation approaches, which reject stakeholder participation as evaluation team members, Collaborative Evaluation assumes that active, on-going engagement between evaluators and program staff,…

This paper addresses the issue of the knowledge gap between evaluators and the entity being evaluated: the dilemma of the knowledge of professional evaluators vs. the in-depth knowledge of the evaluated subjects. In order to optimize evaluative outcomes, the author suggests an approach based on ideas borrowed from the science of cybernetics as a…

My Environmental Education Evaluation Resource Assistant or "MEERA" is a web-site designed to support environmental educators' program evaluation activities. MEERA has several characteristics that set it apart from other self-directed learning evaluation resources. Readers are encouraged to explore the site and to reflect on the role that…

This discussion foregrounds four key issues engaged by the articles presented in this special issue: the unique challenges and opportunities of environmental education evaluation, how to think well about the evaluation approaches and purposes that best match this domain, evaluation capacity building in environmental education and action, and…

Evaluation in environmental education is fairly nascent despite decades-long attention to its importance. In setting the context for future chapters appearing in this special issue of the "Journal of Evaluation and Program Planning," attention is devoted to the political circumstances associated with retrenchment in the public sector and increased…

We join the authors in this special issue in their call to embrace a culture of evaluation. Obstacles to change are formidable. Educators debate their purpose--provide knowledge or achieve environmental goals--and we have limited evidence of the effectiveness of environmental programs and policies. Change requires collaboration across…

Describes key issues related to professional competence evaluation and maintenance and presents viable alternatives for enhancing the fidelity and adequacy of professional services. There is widespread recognition that regulatory bodies need to respond to demands for continuous review of the practitioners they have credentialed. (SLD)

Describes efforts to build a worldwide evaluation community, noting events that resulted in an almost 200% growth in the number of regional and national evaluation organizations in slightly more than 1 year. Profiles some national and regional evaluation organizations that participated in a recent evaluation meeting and suggests some alternative…

Discusses some of the challenges of technology-based training and education, the role of quality verification and evaluation, and strategies to integrate evaluation into the everyday design of technology-based systems for education and training. (SLD)

Outlines a training strategy that has been used to encourage evaluators to make sense of codes of behavior and to incorporate such codes into their work. By grouping standards into broad categories, evaluators, and those who commission evaluations, can concentrate on the relevant aspects of the evaluation stage. (SLD)