Political and social issues surrounding the evaluation of a campus learning center are examined and discussed. Issues with which the program evaluator should be aware when attempting to objectively evaluate special service programs for minorities are outlined. Special emphasis is placed on methodology and skills needed to select, as well as…

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…

Social studies materials for secondary grades containing case studies of social problems which require critical thinking skills are assessed and described. (SM)

THIS PROJECT REPORTED ON PUBLIC CONFLICT AND POLITICAL CONTROVERSY AS CONTENT ELEMENTS IN PUBLIC SCHOOL, SOCIAL SCIENCE PROGRAMS. PART 1 DISCUSSED CRITERIA FOR CONTENT SELECTION IN THE SOCIAL STUDIES AS GENERAL EDUCATION AND AS AN ANALYSIS OF SOCIAL VALUES. PART 2 DESCRIBED A FRAMEWORK FOR ANALYSIS OF PUBLIC CONTROVERSY IN AMERICA. PART 3 DEALT…

A DISCUSSION WAS CONTINUED IN THIS REPORT ON IMPLEMENTING AN APPROACH AND ON DEVELOPING AND EVALUATING A TRIAL PROGRAM FOR USING ISSUES OF PUBLIC CONFLICT AND POLITICAL CONTROVERSY AS CONTENT ELEMENTS IN PUBLIC SCHOOL SOCIAL SCIENCE PROGRAMS. CONCLUSIONS WERE PROVIDED FOR THE VARIOUS TOPICS DISCUSSED. THE INFORMATION WAS PRESENTED AS VOLUME TWO OF…

A review of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), which originated 20 years ago, is presented; and the original political, ideological and social science assumptions for the design of NAEP are examined. The report criticizes the founding principle as hampering NAEP's maximum utility and exploratory power. In examining the form of…

This report, one part of the evaluation program of the Committee on Civic Education to determine the impact of the committee's instructional program, "Conflict, Politics, and Freedom," consists of a questionnaire, with responses from the sample of 54 out of 104 contacted teachers, displayed in graphs and by lists of comments. The data are graphed…

Descriptions of models for policy analysis in future studies are presented. Separate sections of the paper focus on the need for appropriate technologies of social science in future studies, a description of "compact policy assessment" (CPA), and a comparison of two CPA methods, Compass and Delphi. Compact policy assessment refers to any low-cost,…