The past years have witnessed a growing trend in applied research in Vocational Education and Training (VET), which refers to investigative activities and services conducted by VET organisations which have a strong practical focus on solving real-life problems. Insights from applied research can be used to develop or improve products and services,…

Purpose: This paper aims to apply the system evaluation theory (SET) to analyze the institutional quality standards of Oman Academic Accreditation Authority using the results chain and value chain tools. Design/methodology/approach: In systems thinking, the institutional standards are connected as input, process, output and feedback and leads to…

Networks aiming for fundamental changes bring together a variety of actors who are part and parcel of a problematic context. These system innovation projects need to be accompanied by a monitoring and evaluation approach that supports and maintains reflexivity to be able to deal with uncertainties and conflicts while challenging current practices…

The seven articles in this edition show that cost-benefit analysis is emerging from the confusion of the 1980s and is probably going to become the central tool of program evaluation in the future. The modern approach involves incorporating probability distributions into the cost-benefit analysis. None of the articles are specifically…

Three documents are presented which describe the Australian Open Learning Information Network (AOLIN)--a national, independent, and self-supporting network of educational researchers with a common interest in the use of information technology for open and distance education--and discuss two evaluative studies undertaken by the organization. The…

This issue examines the following topics: comparative adult education (its scientific status and development), adult education research activity in system analysis, the inner structure of the system of adult education, adult education research and recently completed planning work, and the contents of adult education research in West Germany,…

The special features found in admitting students to diploma nursing programs in Ontario provide the context for a review of relevant information regarding admissions procedures. Criteria to be used in an evaluation of admissions procedures are offered, alternatives are delineated and discussed, and systems analyses for procedures are suggested.…

The Engineering Technologies Division of the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT) in Canada has developed a systems approach to program review called Competency Profile Development (CPD). This approach utilizes a combination of organizational communication, project management, management-by-objectives, a modified Developing A Curriculum…

Based on the working papers and the results of seminar discussions on the evaluation of vocational education in various European countries, this volume summarizes current European thinking on the evaluation of training programs. Chapter 1 describes and defines the different levels of analysis which can be used in evaluation: analysis in the…

This book is designed to assist evaluators of nonformal education (NFE) and adult education programs in their continuing professional education and in the task of improving their capacities for genuinely formative, informative, and participatory assessment of educational practice. Fourteen chapters are organized into five sections. Section 1…

The quality of education provided by the public sector in Pakistan has been poor due to low levels of teacher competence, lack of classroom-based support for teachers, poor quality of textbooks and learning materials, lack of systems to assess student learning outcomes, uneven supervision, insufficient resources for critical teaching and learning…