Discusses the role of libraries in providing emergent literacy experiences for children in day care and preschool programs. The importance of exposure to print is discussed, and a study is described that evaluated a library outreach program that was developed to promote emerging literacy in preschoolers. (LRW)

Reminisces about challenges and events associated with setting up the Getty Institute for Educators on the Visual Arts, the purpose of which was to evaluate strategies for making visual arts an academic and required school subject. Discusses the genesis of the Institute, programs offered, and outcomes, including Discipline-Based Art Education.…

Investigated use of standardized questionnaires to establish organizational characteristics of group day-care providers in self-assessments. Examined processes by which nurseries instigate group discussing of self-assessment procedures, establish priorities for change, develop action plans, and implement change. Identified several suitable…

Presents a case for using benefit-cost analysis to structure evaluations of child-abuse prevention and intervention programs. Presents the basic concept of benefit-cost analysis, its application in the context of assessing these types of child welfare programs, and limitations on its application to social service programs. (Author)

Video Planned Activities training was evaluated with parents (N=2) reported for child abuse. Video training was an effective intervention, improving parent use of planned activities and appropriate interaction skills. Corresponding improvements in appropriate child-interaction skills were also observed. Social-validation data indicates that…

Discusses the integration of insider-managed baseline evaluation into project and program design in educational change processes. Drawing on examples taken from recent experiences of English language teaching projects in Central Europe and China, the benefits of using insider-managed baseline studies are outlined.(Author/VWL)

Examines some of the reasons teachers in the junior colleges of Quebec, Canada have refused to participate in the evaluation of college programs. Findings from case studies of several junior college programs suggest that a bottom-up approach would have mobilized stakeholder involvement more than the top-down approach actually used. (SLD)

Rigorous evaluations of welfare-to-work programs have had a major impact on the formation of policy in the area of welfare reform, but it is not clear whether the high level of evaluation, especially with regard to randomized experiments, and impact can continue. Evaluators must strive for research methodologies that provide results for policy…

The satisfaction of 469 parents or guardians and 387 of their children who received mental health services at 22 community agencies in Illinois was assessed with standardized measures and procedures. Youths' satisfaction was less than that of their parents. Results are used to formulate a prediction model. (SLD)

Describes a program developed by librarians at Arizona State University West to evaluate their library instruction. Topics discussed include stressing individual improvement rather than personnel evaluation and decisions; group process; focus on formative evaluation; role of evaluation measures; evaluations by faculty and students; and colleague…

Articles in this special issue consider different aspects of community-level evaluation research and demonstrate the emerging sophistication and promise of this field. Process evaluation, qualitative research, and meta-analysis are promising new directions for ensuring more appropriate levels of analysis and more appropriate outcomes. (SLD)

Review of methodology for assessing the employment "success" of higher education graduates finds that graduate and employer surveys generally to do not serve this purpose well. It finds, however, that despite substantial methodological problems, institutions can implement expert guidance to obtain targeted feedback related to…

Carried out case study of a needs analysis in a childcare center established as a cooperative venture by a women's group in Ireland. Revealed how "professional" criteria, if applied too rigidly, can not only subvert the initial purposes of the development but also produce divisions within a group whose cohesiveness of purpose was…

Transition courses for licensed practical nurses moving into associate degree programs and for registered nurses earning bypass credit in bachelor's degree programs was evaluated through surveys of 237 students and graduates, 68 supervisors, and faculty. Students invested half the time and money as regular students; they wanted better advisement…

Describes the collaborative process and the lessons learned when the staff of a family-literacy program and an evaluator worked together to design and implement a portfolio assessment that was used to collect program-evaluation information for the Even Start program over two years. Discusses opportunities to collaborate in the development of this…