Evaluation can help turn training into a powerful force that is of value to an organization. It should be based on what the organization values; its impact should not be limited to return on investment, and causal chains should be used to measure impact. (Author/JOW)

Discusses changes in the delivery of education and training in light of businesses being driven by cost, quality, service, and speed. Examines the learning needs of employees and businesses; paradigm shifts caused by technology, particularly the Internet; knowledge management; performance support; and learning-oriented Web sites that link to…

Social care at home for elderly people is now growing rapidly in France. A new question is, What are better forms of care for the different partners concerned? The research presented here, and made for the Comity of Lille Employment Area with cooperation of the Caisse Primaire d'Assurance Maladiede Lille (the local board of the national social…

The purpose of this study is to conduct a cost analysis from an institutional perspective of translating an English-language survey instrument to Spanish. The authors conduct a process flow analysis of the steps required to create and validate a 30-page survey instrument with 211 items. The identified steps in the translation process cost $10,426.…

Support of telemedicine for largely rural and ethnically diverse populations is premised on expectations that it increases opportunities for appropriate and timely medical services, and that it improves cost-effective service delivery. To understand the cost-effectiveness of telemedicine in 8 small and/or rural sites in Arizona. A cost analysis…

Policymakers nationwide must decide how to best invest in education and related opportunities, such as out-of-school-time programs targeting youth and early-childhood education programs. In this paper, we review the costs, benefits, and costs and benefits relative to one another for one alternative type of investment: youth programs that are…

This study explores opportunity costs of postsecondary education in the U.S. in the past three decades. Based on human capital theory, data from the U.S. Census, along with parameters for high education achievement (involving bachelors and advanced degrees), were fed into a forecasting model developed for this purpose. Beyond descriptive…

This article describes the Center for Benefit-Cost Studies of Education, at Teachers College, Columbia University. Launched last year by a pair of economists, the center specializes in calculating and comparing the long- and short-term costs--and probable payoffs--of different educational strategies that promise to improve students' lives. Studies…

This paper examines the cost of the increased provision of higher education courses within further education colleges in England. We believe this to be the first attempt to fit a cost function specifically to the further education sector. Cost functions for a sample of 96 colleges over a 2-year period, from 2000 to 2002, are fitted using a panel…

Purpose of Study: A fundamental question for educational planners and policy makers is which secondary school providers are most efficient in raising student learning for the most youth, given an available level of resources. Considerable attention has been devoted in recent years to the proposition that private providers offer efficient…

Purpose: This study aims to identify the current barriers to sustainability in the bioscience laboratory setting and to determine which mechanisms are likely to increase sustainable behaviours in this specialised environment. Design/methodology/approach: The study gathers qualitative data from a sample of laboratory researchers presently…

To policy planners in developing countries open and distance learning (ODL), because of its cost and delivery characteristics, is and has been a very attractive option for delivering tertiary education. Yet, we have very little evidence on outcomes and the system's effectiveness. Providing some of this evidence is the main contribution of this…

Educational needs assessments (hereafter NAs) are inattentive to cost considerations and are frequently dominated by elite stakeholder groups. In this article I make a case for adopting a cost-utility approach, illustrating the argument with data generated in a NA of central library services in a Canadian school district. Using survey data from…

A substantial amount of controversy surrounds the issue of class size in public schools. Parents and teachers are on one side, touting the benefits of smaller class sizes (e.g., increased academic achievement, greater student-teacher interaction, utilization of more innovative teaching strategies, and a decrease in discipline problems). On the…

This article addresses the context and challenges of small island developing states, focusing particularly on Cape Verde. After a general discussion of the characteristics of small island developing states, several development challenges such as poverty, unemployment and migratory issues specific to Cape Verde are evoked. Despite a period of…