This paper provides an informed and critical understanding of the concept of self-esteem. It explores this psychological construct in relation to its use in adventure education and outdoor learning. Enhancing a participant's self-esteem is perceived to be fundamentally a good thing and is culturally linked to the Hahnian notion that implies…

Prisoner reentry programs continue to be developed and implemented to ease the process of transition into the community and to curtail fiscal pressures. This study describes and provides relapse and recidivism outcome findings related to a randomized trial evaluating a multimodal, community-based reentry program that prioritized substance abuse…

This article provides an introduction to geographic information systems (GIS) and how the technology can be used to enhance evaluation practice. As a tool, GIS enables evaluators to incorporate contextual features (such as accessibility of program sites or community health needs) into evaluation designs and highlights the interactions between…

Service-Learning has evolved beyond simply asking to have students engage in community activities. Service-Learning has become an integral part of our educational system. Having the ability to judge the effectiveness of a service-learning project has become an important component in Higher Education. The purpose of this article is to provide a…

A SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis of a teacher education program, or any program, can be the driving force for implementing change. A SWOT analysis is used to assist faculty in initiating meaningful change in a program and to use the data for program improvement. This tool is useful in any undergraduate or degree…

Retaining effective teachers is a challenge in every classroom, but nowhere more than in special education classrooms. The purpose of the study was to conduct a program evaluation using archival data that were collected as a part of the Special Education Advanced Mentor Training (SEAMT) in South Carolina. Drawing on Erikson's Intimacy vs.…

Contradictory findings from "well-implemented" rigorous evaluations invite researchers to identify the differences that might explain the contradictions, helping to generate testable hypotheses for new research. This panel will examine efforts to ensure that the large number of local evaluations being conducted as part of four…

Instructional design (ID) is systematic way of suggesting a structure and giving meaning to an instructional problem by helping to visualize the problem and breaking into discrete and manageable units. In addition, ID is a systematic reflective process of applying instructional principles into plans by material, activity, resources and evaluation…

The Department for Education is running a three-year school exclusion trial, which started in autumn 2011 and continues until July 2014. The trial sees schools taking on responsibility for placing permanently excluded pupils in alternative provision and funding the placements from money devolved from.

Truancy issues are longstanding and the desires to develop programs that are effective have been just as enduring. More striking is the lack of evidence of a truancy program evaluation process that includes collaboration with the clients that it serves. Truancy intervention programs have a wide range of effects on participants from multiple ethnic…

Most mental disorders often onset during the adolescent years, providing opportunities for educators, health care providers, and related stakeholders to work collaboratively in addressing adolescent mental health care needs. This report describes early implementations of various components of the School-Based Pathway to Care Model currently…

In 2008, the Commission of Professors of Adult Education approved and published "Standards for Graduate Programs in Adult Education," an update of the 1986 "Standards." Using the program websites of the 37 North American programs ascertained to have doctoral programs in the field, this study evaluated all programs' course…

The authors empirically evaluated a spiritually based 1-day child maltreatment training program. Pretest, posttest, and follow-up results indicated that participants' recognition of hypothetical maltreatment did not increase after training. Furthermore, although participants decreased their use of items known to dissuade decisions to report, they…

This article explores how the Department of Graduate Nursing and a writing specialist at a small regional college have worked together to address the challenges of providing graduate-level education in a blended, professional program to a diverse adult population. This cross-disciplinary effort adapted the Writing-Enriched Curriculum (WEC) model…

This paper reviews literature on the rationale, challenges, and recommendations for choosing a nonequivalent comparison (NEC) group design when evaluating intervention effects. After reviewing frequently addressed threats to validity, the paper describes recommendations for strengthening the research design and how the recommendations were…