Recounts the author's experiences as a graduate student in social psychology at Northwestern University at the time the training program for program evaluation was being established. Explains the importance of the early training for the evaluator's career. (SLD)

Research has provided important lessons about developing and delivering high quality professional development to educators. Features identified as indicative of high quality professional learning experiences are the organization of the activity and its duration, the extent to which there is collective participation of teachers within an education…

While intense discussions are raging over the definition and status of public theology, within graduate theological education relatively little attention is being paid to the teaching of the practices of public theology. This article explores one venue in graduate theological education that attempts to equip seminary and divinity school students…

This paper considers the meaning of social justice as reflected by New Communities Schools (NCS). It reviews the role of NCS in the modernisation of welfare, considers the criteria used to judge their effectiveness and assesses the outcomes of the NCS programme. Problems in assessing social justice outcomes are explored in terms of pilot or…

Certain challenges are inherent in collecting data to evaluate nonformal education programs and settings. One challenge relates to the complexity of the educational system in which nonformal learning takes place. Separating the learning effects of a nonformal education program on participants from the effects of other essential elements of their…

The opportunity that evaluators have to be educators is well known. Patton emphatically states, "Every interaction with an evaluation client, participant, stakeholder, and user is a teaching opportunity." This article discusses two ways in which evaluators can help educate the staff of nonformal programs: helping them articulate the theory that…

The development of clinical skills and judgment is a key area of learning for undergraduate paramedic students but they typically find translating theory to practice a daunting prospect not least because they practice their developing clinical skills in front of others. This paper documents the rationale and outcomes of a peer mentoring program in…

This report provides an overview of the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program and the author's plan for evaluating it over a five year period. It also presents a brief summary of the main findings of the four distinct topical reports that the author and his colleagues have completed for 2006-07--the baseline year of the evaluation. Those four…

Studies that examine the impacts of education interventions on key student, teacher, and school outcomes typically collect data on large samples and on many outcomes. In analyzing these data, researchers typically conduct multiple hypothesis tests to address key impact evaluation questions. Tests are conducted to assess intervention effects for…

This issue of "The Evaluation Exchange" spotlights one of the central components of complementary learning: family involvement. There are 28 articles herein: (1) "Thinking Big: A New Framework for Family Involvement Policy, Practice, and Research" (Suzanne Bouffard and Heather Weiss) reframes family involvement as part of a broader complementary…

The federal role in precollege science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education is receiving increasing attention in light of the need to support public understanding of science and to develop a strong scientific and technical workforce in a competitive global economy. Federal science agencies, such as the National Aeronautics…

This report contains results from focus groups conducted with teachers in the first year of the AISD REACH strategic compensation program pilot. [For Report 1, see ED627936.]

It is well documented that undetected hearing loss can have a profound effect on a child's holistic development, including communicative, language and cognitive development. It is crucial therefore that deaf and hard of hearing infants are detected as early as possible so that appropriate intervention services and support can be initiated. To…

The successful nationwide transport and evaluation of Multisystemic Therapy (MST) programs in Norway is described. This description is provided within the context of the nation's movement towards the adoption of evidence-based practices (EBPs) during the past decade, the conduct of a multisite randomized clinical trial to examine the effectiveness…

The evaluation of educational or social programmes is paramount for establishing success or impact in higher education. Evaluation questions about programme goals (e.g. better performance of first-year students) or about the quality of programme strategies (design and implementation) and effectiveness of delivery (coordinator inputs and…