Discusses a study that was part of a larger project commissioned by the Scottish Office Education Department in 1994 (the Improving School Effectiveness Project) that gathered extensive qualitative data on a subset of 24 schools. The study showed a correlation between school development planning processes and school effectiveness. (Contains 20…

The arts can play a role in regeneration of areas of economic, social, cultural, and environmental disadvantage. Field study of four arts projects in Scotland identified (1) the need for community consultation and involvement; (2) uses of hard and soft data; (3) strategic use of the arts within overall community regeneration policy; and (4) the…

Evaluates the Residential Student Assistance Program for its ability to prevent or decrease alcohol and other drug use in high-risk, multi-problem, inner-city minority adolescents. A fifth-year outcome evaluation documented the program's effectiveness in both preventing and reducing substance use among participants. (Author/MKA)

Describes the a-e-I-o-u program evaluation approach, a framework for organizing key evaluation questions that allows for many models of evaluation and/or methods of data collection. Evaluations by users of the approach have indicated that it provides a practical way to organize evaluation questions and collect appropriate data. (GCP)

An interactive multimedia computer game to enhance self-management skills and thereby improve asthma outcomes in inner city children with asthma was evaluated. Results find that the intervention was associated with fewer hospitalizations, better symptom scores, increased functional status, greater knowledge of asthma management, and better child…

Investigated risk factors associated with placement disruption or breakdown in long-term foster care cases in Finland. Most children were placed in foster care due to neglect; follow-up occurred at an average of 4 years and 2 months after placement. Found correlation between placement breakdown and foster parents' having birth children, and…

Presents a case study reporting on educational change in the biology department at Arizona State University integrating didactic, historical, philosophical, ethical, and subdisciplinary elements into the teaching model. Evaluates the change in a university academic department and describes how to sustain the change. (Contains 28 references.) (YDS)

Describes the development and validation of a self-report instrument for measuring resiliency in youth for recreation and other social services, noting that the instrument is not yet ready for use under all conditions and that while use of structural equation modeling removes some subjectivity, results of this type of analysis are still left to…

Reports on the experience of the pharmacy course at UNIMEP (Methodist University of Piracicaba (Brazil)) in diagnosing itself. Offers models for the elaboration of an innovative curriculum which is the desire of those who make up the course. (BT)

Using logic modeling as the basis for meaningful evaluation, specific steps are outlined for measuring learning outcomes in extension education: articulating outcomes, turning outcomes into knowledge statements, and constructing a tool to measure perceived changes in knowledge. Use of this learning assessment tool enables extension faculty to…

Surveyed British academics, hypothesizing that the effect of Britain's Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) on individual academics is dependent on their self-assessed level of research activity. Found that the RAE's effect does appear to be dependent on level of research activity, with moderately active researchers the most influenced to increase…

Describes Missouri Southern State College's assessment of its study abroad program as an example of how one institution has attempted to trace the effects that the program has had on student. (EV)

Outlines a generic approach to developing a workshop series that can be used to enhance understanding and planned use of modern educational approaches in science courses. The proposed workshop series includes an easy, formal assessment method. (MM)

Presents two methods for assessing the scholarship of engagement at the institutional level: (1) Comprehensive Assessment of the Scholarship of Engagement (CASE), a systematic method that compiles information about service learning and community engagement, identifies campus strengths, and prioritizes planning areas; and (2) an institutional…

Discusses school security program assessment and strategies that try to strike a balance between security equipment and staffing needs. Also explored are where security equipment can save school districts money, access control strategies, the physical elements that often compromise security, and school security personnel hiring criteria. (GR)