This study analyzed characteristics of classrooms where recreational reading is being implemented. It scrutinized those classrooms that housed successful programs and looked for common elements among them. Specifically, we explored the physical, teacher, student, and program factors within these classrooms that contributed toward their success.…

Judging from the recent surge in research on outcomes assessment, many study abroad offices rely on quantitative surveys and measures to collect student outcomes data. This paper presents a multidimensional, qualitative approach to data collection. This approach makes qualitative data easy to collect and encourages students to reflect and…

It would seem that most policies to promote the use of APEL as a certification method parallel to that offered by formal education and training systems are based on the belief that it is a less costly and shorter method, which is more attractive. Few countries, however, have convincing surveys or observations of the real advantages of APEL for…

NASPE's Teacher Toolbox is an instructional resource site which provides educators with a wide variety of teaching tools that focus on physical activity. This service is provided by NASPE to support instructional activities as well as promote quality programs. New monthly issues support NASPE's mission to enhance knowledge, improve professional…

Leadership development in higher education is of vital importance to South Africa's future. We present a case study that focuses on a leadership development programme (LDP) through action learning and action research (ALAR) for women academics in South Africa during 2000 and 2001. It identifies the effects of the LDP on participants five years…

The sustainability agenda is a concern of several UN agencies that appreciate how well-being, social justice, human development and the health of our planet are inextricably linked. This remit underpinned the launch of the UN Decade in Education for Sustainable Development (DESD) in 2005. As the DESD reaches its mid-point, mechanisms for assessing…

It has been acknowledged for several decades that programs interact with context. The nature of this interactivity, and how it defines a program, has not been adequately addressed. We view this lacuna as a function of the dominant theoretical perspectives guiding knowledge of program operations. We propose the actor-network theory (ANT) and its…

Buddy Reading, a peer tutoring programme, is popularly adopted in Singapore schools to increase the reading proficiency of lower primary children who are not reading at age appropriate levels. However, this programme is rarely subjected to systematic evaluation. In view of this, the present study undertakes an evaluation of the programme as it is…

The recommitment of public education to its civic roots has revived discussion on how to engage younger generations of citizens in electoral politics and civic life. This randomized trial of 1,670 high school students in 80 social studies classrooms evaluates the impact of an election-based civics program on students' civic knowledge, skills, and…

Do camps provide a particular kind of thinking space where learning that lasts is facilitated? The argument is built around the concept of transformative learning that involves understanding who we are or wish to be and how we grow accordingly. The nature of such learning is explored through its conceptual relationship with changes in attitudes…

This study evaluates the impact of a community-based information campaign on school performance from a cluster randomized control trial in 610 villages. The campaign consisted of eight or nine public meetings in each of 340 treatment villages across three Indian states to disseminate information to the community about its state-mandated roles and…

Today's public policy discussions increasingly focus on how "networks" of public and private actors collaborate across organizational, sectoral, and geographical boundaries to solve increasingly complex problems. Yet, many of evaluation's key concepts, including the evaluator's role, assume an evaluand that is programmatically or organizationally…

The objective of this study is to evaluate the impact of a pilot study that promoted productive and capacity-building activities among deprived rural women of Mexico. The evaluation design is observational; 1,278 women are interviewed, and the comparison group is estimated by propensity score matching. The results show a positive impact on the…

Benefit-cost analysis was conducted to estimate the increase in earnings, increased tax revenues, value of less crime, and reductions in welfare costs attributable to nationwide implementation of rapid assessment, a promising intervention for raising student achievement in math and reading. Results suggest that social benefits would exceed total…

Researchers' social-cultural organization influences the scope, quality, quantity, coherence, dissemination, utilization and impact of research-based, theoretically sound knowledge. Five concepts--paradigm, exemplar, segment, network and gatekeeper--are salient to research on researchers' organization. Autobiographical reflections signal these…