In 1980, five federal special education longitudinal qualitative impact evaluations were all prematurely terminated. What happened, why it happened, and what salvage decisions were made are examined in this article. The impact of these decisions on the design of RFPs and future evaluation plans are also discussed. (Author/EGS)

Value judgments are central to the process of stakeholder-based evaluations. The selection of stakeholder participants involves a value judgment about the power and the legitimacy of the stakeholders. Consequences of stakeholder evaluation may include pseudoempowerment. Suggestions for evaluators for improving stakeholder evaluations are made.…

This article focuses on the distinction between needs assessment and demand assessment and presents a methodology for operationalizing and measuring demands. Results are reported of a survey of a national sample of 32 university and college administrators to assess their need and demand for an adult student opinion package. (Author/LMO)

Four steps to curriculum innovation are outlined: (1) identifying descriptive dimensions; (2) specifying practices implied by the innovation; (3) describing actual practices; and (4) comparing actual with intended practices across the critical dimensions of beliefs, objectives, instructional materials, and teaching strategies. (Author/CP)

Dilemmas inherent in the attempt to measure and evaluate informal supports available to individuals in need of social care are illustrated through a study of 400 elderly persons in Jerusalem. Practical guidelines for evaluation are presented. (SLD)

This article reviews a subsection of leisure research--studies on visitor characteristics, reactions, and behaviors in recreational settings. Four areas of visitor evaluation research are examined: (1) museums; (2) natural environments; (3) tourist sites, and (4) tourist facilities. The role of the psychologist in the development and improvement…

Results of evaluation research studies, even those that are meticulously designed and carefully executed, often are not implemented. This article examines some of the critical factors that mediate between the carrying out of evaluation research and the utilization of findings. To illustrate these factors, two case studies are analyzed. (Author/EGS)

This article considers the advantages and disadvantages of having evaluation users increase the specificity of evaluation requirements through a review of legislative requirements behind several congressionally mandated national-level evaluations, and an in-depth examination of one congressionally mandated evaluation in which very specific design…

Human relations services funded under the Emergency School Aid Act were found to have had favorable but generally weak effects on student intergroup relations. Process and impact evaluation should be combined and individual effects should be examined. (Author/CM)

Interactions of potential loss, time, and self-efficacy on the need for evaluation information for decision making were investigated for 259 managers/nurses (60 percent survey response rate) of home health agencies in New York State. Those with high self-efficacy needed less information in situations of high potential loss and inadequate time.…

Available research suggests that personal characteristics of decision makers, influence how information is used. Results of three studies presented in this article indicate that locus of control in educational decision-making settings is related to (1) knowledge of superintendent support; (2) type of audience; and (3) context of the program.…