This paper reports on teachers' perceptions of students learning as part of a project examining teacher practice and student learning when using "ScratchMaths" in their classroom programmes. The project used design-based methodology, incorporating video-recorded classroom excerpts; teacher interviews; and teacher analysis and review of…

Pressing social problems and inequities call attention to the need for interventions that target root causes and change systems. A significant challenge facing system change efforts is the lack of systems-based evaluation theory and methods. To address this challenge, we conducted an instrumental case study of evaluation within an exemplary…

The development of transversal competences is essential for the success of engineers, who need to have the ability to adapt to the new and changing demands posed by modern society and scientific advances. It is a challenge for professors to teach and evaluate transversal competences, since such competences are related to attitudes and values. We…

This paper is intended to share the results of the assessment of the use of the Online Work Community (OWC), developed in the Moodle technology that was used as an instrument to facilitate the educational and operational processes, intended to share problems and proposals for solution among the 470 members of the development teams, made up of…

Many medical students use exchange programmes to enrich their portfolio. However, such a confrontation with reality can be challenging because custom and practice sometimes differ radically between countries. Exchange students post specific peculiarities, as encountered by them abroad, onto the medical exchange website. They can ask for the…

This paper reports data from the evaluation of the numeracy component of a long-running educational intervention, covering the period from 2001 to 2008. "QuickSmart" is both an intervention and research project operating in Australian schools. It is a structured intervention program designed for middle-school students (ages 10 to 13…

The nature of controversial programs is discussed, including problems that such programs pose for evaluators and suggested solutions for the problems. Controversial programs are likely to generate news-media attention, internal conflicts (i.e., involving the program and evaluation staffs) and external conflicts (i.e., involving various advocacy…

Analyzed are five problem areas hampering the provision of qualtiy day care services to preschool children. The five areas are seen to include definitional problems (including confusion over funding source requirements) lack of program evaluation data, noncontinuity of programing, curriculum difficulties, and underutilization of parent input.…

It has been two years since the Evaluation Research Society (ERS) published its Standards for Program Evaluation. The standards have influenced professional activities, such as panel discussions, and have been useful in training evaluators. However, the question arises as to whether the standards have been consulted by practicing evaluators or…

This paper addresses the question: What is proper conduct for an internal evaluator? Selected ethical issues are examined, and strategies for responding effectively are proposed. Issues examined are: (1) pressure to downplay negative and emphasize positive findings; (2) reinforcement for nonthreatening evaluation activities; (3) greater interest…

Within an inservice training program there is a functional interdependent relationship among problems, causes, and solutions. During a sequence of eight steps to ascertain program impact, a "continuity matrix", a management technique that assists in dealing with the problem/solution paradox is created. A successful training program must: (1) aim…

This monograph summarizes the results of two mini-conference discussions on the general topic, evaluation of career education. It addresses three major points: (1) Problems involved in evaluation of career education, i.e., instrumentation, expectation, concept implementation, and perceived personal benefit, (2) examples of evaluation approaches…

A quasi-experimental pre- and post-test design was used to evaluate the Students' Creative Response to Conflict (SCRC) program, which is based on the principles of conflict resolution education and social-emotional learning. It is predicted that SCRC will influence students to reduce their approval of aggression and associated problem behaviors…

A survey of judges, attorneys, and social service workers was used to ascertain the effectiveness of existing court systems in processing family cases and to determine if a family court could improve the administration of justice to families. The data suggested that: (1) the dual-court system and the training of lawyers, judges, and social service…

Program design can aid problem-solving or decision-making tasks faced by evaluators. It can be used to facilitate evaluation planning through the definition of program boundaries and the generation and focusing of evaluation questions. Further, it can provide evaluation information about theoretical, historical, and political contexts of a…