This report examines variations in organizational patterns and perspectives toward field-centered research and evaluation. While recent trends show greater concern for research, present efforts are mostly university or organizationally based. Limited systematic attention has been given to research and evaluation efforts that share…

This paper is a comment on the need for review and reanalysis of the accumulated research in social studies as a guide to future efforts to design useful and desirable social studies curricula. Several alternative models for social studies educators are noted. These serve as guides to possible directions for research. The problems of communication…

The author expresses the need for operationally-defined theoretical models so that an explicit value position can be taken against which the work could be evaluated. The primary response to this need has emerged as an operationally-defined theory of the evolution of social-psychological "self" which may occur in an individual, and an analysis of…

This background paper provides the basis for evaluation of programs aimed at reforming social welfare programs. It analyzes the effect of current income transfer programs on poor families. Public expenditures for social welfare programs have grown four-fold while at the same time, the percentage of families in poverty has declined by only 30%.…

This paper, which is part of the work of the Stanford University Environment for Teaching Program, discusses problems that are repeatedly found in the literature on formative evaluation, with emphasis on the special difficulties of conducting formative evaluation in schools. It defines the requirements of effective formative evaluation as (1) a…

This paper briefly reviews the purposes, associated problems, and possible methods of evaluating college administrators. It is noted that there are essentially two possible purposes for administrator evaluation: to increase the efficiency of the college, in which case the emphasis must be placed on the function of the position, or to evaluate the…

Potential contributions of formal evaluation to pharmacy education are discussed with emphasis on evaluation problems. Six levels of evaluation are identified and ten years of evaluative research in the American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education categorized accordingly: effort performance, adequacy of performance, efficiency, process, and system…

The difficulty of evaluation of staff development programs is examined in terms of the goals of staff development, the individual and contextual goals, and structural properties inherent in staff development programs. Several guidelines for evaluation are offered. (JMF)

Institutions of higher education are faced with difficult decisions on the allocation of funds between decentralized minicomputers and computer centers. The Computer Policy Committee at the University of Michigan provides a useful example of policy formation and decision-making regarding the acquisition and utilization of computers. Acquisition…

A model is needed for defining, operationalizing, and measuring teacher competence that combines the methodological rigor of the behavioral objectives approach with the richness of the intuitive, empirical, and theoretical knowledge of what constitutes competence. (Author)

Suggests that the demand for accountability is well taken provided that those who design programs and those who assess them are also held responsible. Theory and practice, including evaluation are to be reviewed in reciprocal relationship to each other. (Author/AM)

The nations put forward here are that assessment and forward planning are interdependent. Continuous assessment is an essential feature of informal education and it is the basis of day-to-day planning. A cumulative record of childrens growth throughout their school life is also needed. (Author/AM)

This article explores some general notions about politics, evaluation, large city districts, and their interrelations. Different segments of the evaluation process are analyzed to isolate specific political elements in operation. (Author/AM)

A national survey was made of faculty development and teacher improvement programs, considering: how effective they tend to be, the types of faculty most involved, and how programs are funded and organized. Results are presented, and the need for objective evaluation of such programs is noted. (LBH)

Evaluators of basic units in higher education should be explicit about the motives, object, organization, criteria, methods, dissemination, and impacts of evaluation efforts to avoid being counterproductive. (Author/MSE)