Background: Recent research on the preparation of graduate students in education for research has focused on general matters of epistemology, curriculum, and teaching. What should researchers know, how should research courses be designed, and what instructional approaches are most effective? Purpose: This article addresses the problem of the…

The authors provide an overview of the Cooperative Extension System and its program evaluation challenges. Part of the historic land-grant system, Extension exists in all states and territories of the United States and is funded through federal, state, and local (usually county) appropriations, as well as competitive grants and other sources.…

An overview is presented of forces that have shaped how public and private funders approach evaluation, including the challenges that funders, and particularly foundations, face in effectively using evaluation within an organizational learning framework. Even with internal organizational challenges to learning, foundations are increasingly…

Despite the growing popularity of brief group interventions (weekend workshops, sexuality attitude reassessment seminars, and other formats) since the 1960s, there is a paucity of evaluative evidence as to their effectiveness. An abundance of anecdotal testimony suggests these interventions may have powerful and lasting impact on individual…

With the advent of the UN Literacy Decade launched in 2003, there is increased emphasis on monitoring and evaluation of adult literacy around the globe. The present paper presents an overview of the main approaches that have been taken to measure adult literacy within and across countries. A particular focus of the present review is to compare and…

Drug studies are often cited as the best exemplars of evaluation design. However, many of these studies are seriously biased in favor of positive findings for the drugs evaluated, even to the point where dangerous effects are hidden. In spite of using randomized designs and double blinding, drug companies have found ways of producing the results…

This collaborative action research project involves two educational psychologists (EPs) working with teachers from four primary schools to develop the use of solution-focused approaches. The project illustrates a way in which EPs might make a distinctive contribution to improving outcomes for children and young people. Realist interviews were used…

THE PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING BEHAVIOR DERIVED THROUGH LABORATORY STUDY CAN BE EXTENDED TO EXPLAIN MUCH OF THE COMPLEX LEARNING REQUIRED IN INDUSTRIAL TRAINING PROGRAMS. A REVIEW OF THE BASIC PRINCIPLES OF HUMAN LEARNING INTRODUCES FOUR BASIC CONCEPTS--DRIVE, STIMULUS, RESPONSE, AND REINFORCER--AND DISCUSSES CLASSICAL AND INSTRUMENTAL CONDITIONING…

The Vermont Vocational Special Needs Evaluation System is a statewide system for evaluating special projects for disadvantaged and handicapped students enrolled in secondary level vocational education programs. A program used for training individuals to serve as external evaluators for the system is presented. This document consists of four…

One solution to the problem of obtaining test scores in order to assess multiple outcomes of educational programs is a basically simple technique called matrix sampling. Matrix sampling is the estimation of total test score statistics by administering random subsets of test items to randomly selected students. This chapter lays out the specific…

This book, which is designed for practitioners in the training field, explains the principles of evaluating training programs on the basis of a four-level model consisting of the following components: reaction, learning, behavior, and results. The book is divided into two parts. Part 1, which consists of eight chapters, describes the concepts,…

Looping is an instructional design whereby students progress to the next grade level with the same teacher(s) for two or more years. This book was designed to help teachers and administrators explore, implement, and evaluate looping programs. The book is divided into four parts. Part 1, "Exploring Looping Configurations," identifies the primary…

This article presents findings from the longitudinal study, Research about Teacher Education (RATE). The data presented represents the perceptions of faculty (N=250) and students (N=1130-1140) in elementary teacher education about several programatic aspects of teacher preparation including curriculum, conceptions of teaching, faculty instruction,…

Developing evaluation capacity in organizations is a complex and multifaceted task. This article outlines a framework for building evaluation capacity. The framework is based on four strategic methods for teaching evaluation: (a) using logic models for sound program planning, (b) providing one-on-one help, (c) facilitating small-team collaborative…

The advantages of the adversary evaluation model are argued. Adversary evaluation utilizes a judicial, argumentative approach and promotes the use of multiple types and sources of data. It grants an investigative license to dig out the data to a greater extent than more traditional approaches. Some of the payoffs of the adversary approach are: (1)…