Transition to College and Careers was a two-year demonstration project that addressed both academic and non-academic barriers to college for adult learners. Of the 397 adult learners who enrolled in one of the six participating programs, 66% completed it, 69% attained college level reading skills, and the majority enrolled in college afterwards.…

Learning and performance professionals are increasingly pressed to measure the results of their learning program design efforts, and ultimately prove their worth. However, evaluation efforts are often limited to measuring participant reaction. This study sought to quantify evaluation practices in organizations and investigate how the use of…

This article examines the nature of, and need for, evaluation of community-engaged university teaching and research. The research was conducted as part of a larger project aimed at improving institutional understanding of how to best support community-engaged university people. We interviewed 25 community-engaged colleagues, and used a general…

Leadership development for faculty often is designed as training for administration, but faculty demonstrate leadership in the classroom, in their departments, college-wide, and beyond. To fully realize and leverage this leadership potential, colleges must design opportunities for faculty to hone their knowledge and skills as active participants…

This article draws on findings from a national review of the evaluation of access and equity initiatives across Australian higher education to argue that utilising responsive mixed methods focused on the values of participants enables crucial understanding of what matters to the people involved. Based on the evidence collected, a "what…

This study uses data from the "Initiative for Systemic Program Improvement through Research in Educational Leadership (INSPIRE) Preparation Program Features Survey" to respond to national critiques of university-based principal preparation programs. The findings provide insight into the program content and relevancy, personnel, and…

This paper examines an "experimental" program in African American adult education that took place at the Harlem branch of the New York Public Library in the early 1930s. The program, called the Harlem Experiment, brought together a group of white funders (the Carnegie Corporation and the American Association for Adult Education)--who…

The potential of ePortfolios is derived from a learner's ability to synthesize learning experiences to better understand how seemingly disparate modalities are connected (Alvarez & Moxley, 2004; Chen, 2009). This is best accomplished through a program-wide implementation of ePortfolios, including providing time for selfdirected learning…

A powerful and eulogistic narrative has evolved around the Venezuelan National System of Youth and Children's Orchestras, better known as El Sistema. Recently, however, critical perspectives have begun to emerge from the academic sphere. Nevertheless, researchers have faced an acute shortage of documentary resources relating to the programme's…

To reach first-generation Extension families and combat barriers faced by Native American youths, North Dakota State University Extension has been involved in the national mentoring program 4-H Youth and Families with Promise (YFP). In the program's fourth year, we conducted ripple effect mapping to explore changes in the schools and communities…

Using a stratified random sample and real-time virtual focus group sessions, we evaluated the regional administrative model, addressing personnel supervision, program direction, financial management, and administrative leadership. We concluded that the regional administrative model remains a highly charged topic, there is no common understanding…

The case study addressed in this article illustrates the value of continuous response measurement (CRM) for testing and refining messages produced for distribution to Extension audiences. We used CRM to evaluate the responses of Extension educators and Natural Resources Conservation Service technical service providers to a video describing…

Conventionally, quantitative surveys are used for student evaluations in higher education, but the validity of this practice has been questioned. In the present study, we investigated a qualitative method for evaluating a bachelor's programme. Forty-one first-year students and twenty-eight third-year students on a bachelor's programme in Public…

It is increasingly important that higher education institutions be able to audit and evaluate the scope and efficacy of their digital learning resources across various scales. To date there has been little effort to address this need for a validated, appropriate, and simple-to-execute method that will facilitate such an audit, whether it be at the…

Evaluation research focusing on educational initiatives that impact on the learning and lives of young people must be challenged to incorporate 'student voice'. In a context of conventional evaluation models of government-led initiatives, student voice is a compelling addition, and challenges the nature of traditional forms of evaluation. It…