Evaluations of the Botswana National Literacy Program (BNLP) are reviewed, with emphasis on one internal and one external evaluation. The BNLP may be one of the most extensively evaluated national literacy programs ever conducted, with a program staff intensively trained in evaluation. One lesson of the repeated evaluations of the BNLP is that a…

Four types of evaluation (context, input, process, and output) are distinguished and applied to the UNESCO program of functional literacy, bringing out some of the special problems of building evaluation systems for broad-impact programs. Each project must build its own evaluation system based on its needs, priorities, and resources. (SC)

The National Literacy Program in Namibia (NLPN) was launched in 1992 with the objective of achieving 80% national literacy among adults. Several evaluations, including an evaluation of system policy and performance, have been conducted. The methodology of these evaluations and the philosophy behind them are discussed. (SLD)

A model of evaluation planning, implementation, and management is presented that includes: (1) a management information system (MIS) to provide a description of the size and scope of adult literacy and post-literacy programs (ALPPs); (2) naturalistic evaluation to provide insight into the meanings of ALPPs as experienced by participants; and (3)…

Steps to be taken to "operationalize" evaluation, i.e., to make evaluation work, are discussed and applied to the Unesco program of functional literacy. Evaluation is seen as an important social concern, as well as a field of study and an area of competence. Four types of evaluation applied to the Unesco program are context evaluation,…

The evaluative implications of adult literacy for all, as delineated by the World Conference on Education for All (held in Jomtien, Thailand, on March 5-9, 1990), are examined. These implications are presented in four interrelated sets related to different stakeholders at different parts of the system. The Education for All (EFA) initiatives…

To evaluate the Adult Literacy Organization of Zimbabwe (ALOZ), an organization whose aim is to achieve universal literacy in Zimbabwe, a study interviewed officials at ALOZ, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and other institutions involved in literacy development; reviewed relevant literature and documents;…

An expanded vision of evaluation is offered that accommodates the use of both descriptive information and evaluative information, and which connects evaluation in the naturalistic paradigm with evaluation in the rationalistic paradigm for making informed decisions within programs of education and development. The model of "Information Development…

Evaluation as a political arbitration entity is discussed in the case of a multilateral literacy development project in the fourth year of operation in a Third World country. An external evaluation team was invited to evaluate the project when conflict appeared between the funding agency (A) and the technical agency (B) over a project-related…

Addressed to professionals involved in program evaluation, this working paper covers various aspects of evaluation planning, including the following: planning as a sociotechnical process, steps in evaluation planning, program planning and implementation versus evaluation planning and implementation, the literacy system and its subsystems, and some…

This paper describes a system of built-in, or internal, evaluation used within the Botswana National Literacy Program (NLP). Launched in 1981 and targeted toward illiterate adults and youth aged 10 years and older, the program aims at eradicating illiteracy in Botswana by 1986. The built-in evaluation was implemented in 1983, using program…

This book presents a comprehensive treatment of the subject of evaluation as applied to literacy programs, covering evaluation theory, planning, and practice. Part I discusses questions of definition, context, objectives, and functions of evaluation and presents descriptions and analyses of evaluation paradigms and models. In Part II, the…

A manual for trainers of development workers and change agents in the third world provides guidelines for evaluation of development training programs. Chapters define evaluation, present a general model of development, and discuss evaluation in development training programs. Designing training systems for development workers and change agents,…

A group of instructional planners from the United States was invited to help establish a vocational skills development project to help meet the need for adequately trained workers in Ecuador's small- and medium-sized enterprises in the industrial, service, commercial and agricultural sectors of the economy. A logicodialetical model called the CLER…