ERIC Number: ED352404
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 1992-Nov
Pages: 29
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Issues in Educational Reform: How Triangulating Qualitative and Quantitative Evaluation Methods Can Enhance Understanding.
Brown, Mary Jo McGee
An evaluation of a school reform project in one kindergarten through grade 5 school in Atlanta (Georgia) is presented to demonstrate how triangulation of qualitative and quantitative evaluation approaches can enhance understanding of a reform effort. During the 1991-92 school year, the final year of the project, Fowler Drive Elementary School served 484 students and had a staff of 25 teachers, 1 principal, 1 assistant principal, 1 media specialist, and 1 half-time project director. Each methodology was conducted by a separate evaluator who was trained and experienced in the approach. The qualitative evaluator used student, parent, teacher, and administrator interviews and open-ended questionnaire data, as well as observational field notes. The quantitative researcher studied effects on students as represented by standardized test scores and different measures of attitude changes of students and teachers. Considered together, data from both approaches provide a broader understanding of the impacts of the reform in schools. Neither data set was used simply to gain a greater understanding of the other, but, instead, each data set was used to understand different aspects of the implementation of the reform. One figure illustrates a model of the school reform process. (SLD)
Descriptors: Attitude Measures, Comparative Analysis, Educational Change, Elementary Education, Elementary School Students, Elementary School Teachers, Elementary Schools, Evaluation Methods, Interviews, Program Evaluation, Qualitative Research, Questionnaires, Research Methodology, Scores, Standardized Tests, Statistical Analysis, Test Results, Test Use
Publication Type: Reports - Evaluative; Reports - Research; Speeches/Meeting Papers
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: Georgia State Dept. of Education, Atlanta. Innovation Program Dept.
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A