Evaluators widely agree that the involvement of key actors is a central aspect of quality practice. However, a scoping review of to what extent and how youth are included has not been explored. This is an important omission because many evaluations are done on programs that directly serve youth. We examined 159 evaluation reports in a publicly…

Using an RD design provides statistically robust estimates while allowing researchers a different causal estimation tool to be used in educational environments where an RCT may not be feasible. Results from External Evaluation of the i3 Scale-Up of Reading Recovery show that impact estimates were remarkably similar between a randomized control…

In an increasingly competitive economy, the capacity for self-motivation, problem-solving skills and an ability to think critically are core graduate attributes. However, the capacity to create an educational environment that develops and harnesses such skills is a distinct challenge as resources become increasingly restricted. Geographical Skills…

The focus of this paper is on the theory of ethnographic methodology. A body of observational studies in social science and educational research is noted, demonstrating methodological statements about ethnography. Methodological procedures are described, along with possible standards of adequacy for their use. The use of the methodology is…

The naturalistic research perspective assumes that reality is multiplistic, phenomenological, and context-dependent. This perspective legitimizes the subjective insights of the investigator by acknowledging the interdependence of facts and values as well as of the investigator and the object of investigation. Although discrepancies between…

This paper discusses impact studies, an emerging evaluation and planning strategy evolving from required USDA reporting for extension services and agricultural experiment stations to a framework for evaluation/assessment planning. Impact studies can be useful for evaluating unit and individual performance, resource allocation, and planning. In…

The five articles of this special section focus on the quantitative-qualitative debate in program evaluation. This section focuses on philosophical aspects of program evaluation, making it clear that the issues are far more complex than the simple quantitative-qualitative dichotomy described by T. S. Kuhn (1970) implies. (SLD)

An evaluation tool, the Evaluation Center Cube (ECC), is presented as a vehicle for establishing an analytic framework and uniting evaluation strategies. The ECC was developed in response to the Kellogg Foundation's need to categorize community-initiated funding proposals. As a classification tool, it facilitates proposal analysis and is…

This paper advances a humanistic and literary view of history which has important implications for those doing educational evaluation in naturalistic settings. It stresses the particularity of historical events and the importance of investigating history from the perspective of the individual actors involved. It emphasizes being sensitive to…

Service Delivery Assessment (SDA) is a qualitative evaluation strategy focused on the "delivering" of social services, rather than on monitoring the implementation of programs or assessing program outcomes. Both data collection and analysis methods are qualitative in nature. Data are gathered by intensive interviewing of providers and…

Barriers to evaluation of prevention programs arise from (1) attitudes that people have about such programs; (2) conceptual difficulties (lack of theory, difficulty in choosing criteria of success, lack of control over implementation strategies); and (3) methodological difficulties (monitoring program integrity over time, measuring program…

It is argued that reports of evaluation activities often leave much to be desired because they fail to portray the real trial-and-error processes of the research study and do not report on the logic in use at the time of the inquiry. (SLD)

Research methods and findings relative to improving understanding of program evaluation usage patterns are reported. This study further refines an evaluation usage model consisting of five basic evaluation usage types: communication, learning, motivation, accountability and decision-making. This usage concept has been expanded to include…

The extent to which evaluation research and psychology share some common objectives, methods and aims for validity is examined. The conventional dichotomy drawn between the two disciplines is seen as spurious and misleading to scholars and practitioners in each area. To demonstrate the proposed synergy between the two disciplines, an integrative…

Latent growth modeling (LGM) has emerged as a flexible analytic technique for modeling change over time because it can describe individual variability in terms of initial status and in growth. LGM methodology can also provide a means for testing the contribution of other variables in order to explain variability in those initial levels and growth…