University departments that offer graduate programs require feedback to assess the quality of the education they offer. Feedback on the quality of education is provided in the form of program evaluation. In the general approach to program evaluation, outsiders, i.e., people who are not parts of a program, do the evaluation. This descriptive study starts out with the belief that the best feedback in program evaluation can only come from insiders, i.e., faculty, students, and alumni, who are parts of a particular program. In order to capture the perspectives of insiders on the quality related characteristics of a program, this study evaluated a master&rsquo / s degree program in TESOL (Teaching of English to Speakers of Other Languages) at an American university in a practical and cost-effective way, using a minimum number of evaluators. All faculty, students, and alumni of the program form the participants in this study. Regular program evaluation studies are conducted to do one type of evaluation only and they do not seek insiders&rsquo / opinions. Unlike such studies, this evaluative research study aims to go beyond that familiar narrow focus and provide a richer description of the program it evaluates. Its research design and the data collection methods employed in it are chosen to achieve that goal. These enable the present study to have a broader scope than those of the regular program evaluation studies as the collected data can be used for more than one type of analysis. The results of data collection show that all parties express positive opinion on the aspects of the program that are directly related to the teaching that takes place in classes. Areas of the program that need improvement are also introduced, and recommendations to overcome them are presented.

This study examined the relationships between pilot school status and Problem-Solving/Response to Intervention (PS/RtI) implementation, educator variables and PS/RtI implementation, and PS/RtI implementation and student and systemic outcomes following the final year of a 3-year PS/RtI implementation Project. School-Based Leadership Team (SBLT) members from 34 pilot schools in seven demonstration districts received training, as well as ongoing technical assistance and coaching, related to PS/RtI implementation. Data on educator's beliefs, perceptions of educational practices, and perceptions of PS/RtI skills; PS/RtI implementation; and student and systemic outcomes were collected from the 34 pilot schools, as well as 27 comparison schools. To examine the research questions in this study, multilevel models were conducted. Results of the analyses suggested that pilot school status appeared to be positively related to increases in PS/RtI implementation over time, while the educator variables did not significantly predict changes in PS/RtI implementation. Increases in PS/RtI implementation were not related to changes in DIBELS kindergarten PSF scores over time, but were negatively related to DIBELS kindergarten NWF scores over time. Finally, PS/RtI implementation was not significantly related to changes in office discipline referrals, but was significantly related to decreases in placements in special education over time. Potential explanations for the findings from this study and suggestions for future research are discussed.

Developmental evaluation (Patton, 1994, 2011) is one of the latest approaches to be introduced into evaluation practice. It purports to support the development of social innovation by infusing evaluative thinking through collaboration between program clients and the developmental evaluator (Patton, 2011). In an attempt to build “practical knowledge” (Schwandt, 2008) about this emerging approach, this research seeks to investigate the capacity of developmental evaluation to support innovation. This thesis reports on a case study of the Assessment Pilot Initiative (API) where developmental evaluation was used to support the development of a novel approach to teacher education. Charged with a vision to innovate their own teaching practices and the learning of teacher candidates, the instructors of the case invited a developmental evaluator onboard in a yearlong collaboration. While the instructors, along with the developmental evaluator, were uncertain about the outcome of the initiative or how best to proceed, this engagement resulted in a novel adaptation of microblogging web technology (Twitter) that came to be piloted with a group of teacher candidates. This thesis presents an analysis of the development process and the contributions developmental evaluation made in enabling the development of the API. Such analysis is anchored in the records of the program development, and in the perspectives of the program clients and the developmental evaluator. Analyzing the program development records for developmental moments revealed certain trends and patterns that, when triangulated with interview data from program clients and with reflections from the developmental evaluator, provided intricate insights into how the development came about and of the contributions developmental evaluation made in this case. Development of API proceeded in a highly nonlinear, emergent process through six foci of development. Critical to addressing the uncertainty and complexity that might had otherwise inhibited development, developmental evaluation enabled a data-informed approach that lent a quality of responsiveness to the emergent, evolving nature of the initiative. The developmental evaluator was instrumental in identifying activities that helped make explicit values and assumptions underpinning the initiative and in structuring a learning framework to engage program clients in sense-making. The notion of design emerged from analysis as an important function of developmental evaluation. Implications of the findings are discussed. / Thesis (Master, Education) -- Queen's University, 2011-12-29 18:05:34.631

This study explores the meaning of relevant science in two townships in Cape Town. Reform in science education, both nationally and internationally has placed much emphasis on the fact that science education should be relevant. The research conducted in this study attempts to interpret different dimensions of relevance. This study explores not only how learners make meaning of their everyday lives, but what 'science' they deem to be relevant and worth learning within this context. It acknowledges the important role of teachers in establishing what learners perceive to be relevant. The theory of social constructivism is suited to this investigation, in its recognition of the roles of children's knowledge, purposes, social groups and interactions in learning. The children in this study often have personal lives steeped in poverty, abuse and violence. The curriculum design is also guided by social constructivist theories. However, a second version of constructivism, critical constructivism, is used to frame the second phase of the study. A critical constructivist approach raises questions about the type of knowledge learners interact with. In critical constructivism, science and its methods, the curriculum and the classroom are opened up to critical inquiry. Teachers' knowledge of their learners is used to design science lessons that are more meaningful, relevant and personalised. The individual lessons, as well as the lesson series that are used in this study are designed as examples of relevant science, while the lesson series also serves as a tool to elicit deeper understandings of what learners in this particular context experience as relevant to their lives. Although the main focus of this research is the relevance of using everyday knowledge in the classroom, bringing everyday knowledge into the classroom allows for the inclusion of a number of dimensions of relevance. The different ways in which learners respond to the science lessons in both phases are discussed as five outcomes. The findings of the research show that the essence of a relevant science curriculum lies in a particular design. This design accommodates many dimensions of relevance, such as relevant content, context and purposes. Such as design helps learners to negotiate the difficult border between the formal school environment and the informal home environment. A relevant curriculum acknowledges that science education is more than only science, but also recognises the implications for science curriculum development. This study is part of a larger project which is a comprehensive evaluation of the Primary Science Programme (PSP). The PSP gave the research its full support as the investigation of relevance may have an influence on curriculum design. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2005.

Mémoire numérisé par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal

Mémoire numérisé par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal

DM is a serious and complex public health problem in the U.S. The CDC (2013) estimated that 25.8 million people, or 8.3% of the U.S. population, were suffering from DM in 2011. DM can significantly affect patient’s quality of life. Additionally, DM places a significant economic burden on the U.S. healthcare system. Over the past two decades, DMPs have emerged as a promising intervention to improve health outcomes for patients suffering from chronic conditions, such as DM, and to bend the cost curve. DMP’s aim is to improve communication and follow-up so that patients can better manage their chronic condition(s) to avoid costly hospital stays and emergency room visits (Fireman, Bartlett, & Selby, 2004). The Georgia region of Kaiser Permanente (KPGA) is a fully integrated health system that serves 260,000 members at 28 medical offices along with two specialty offices in the metropolitan Atlanta area. The Center for Care Partnership, the population care division of KPGA, administers a chronic disease management program (DMP), Healthy Solutions (HS). HS exists to improve and maintain the health of chronically ill KPGA members, including patients diagnosed with diabetes mellitus (DM), by providing health coaches via telephone who counsel members on their specific chronic disease and aid members in starting or maintaining a physician approved self-care management plan. In order to determine the impact HS has on KPGA members with DM, an evaluation plan was created to evaluate the impact HS has on members’ glycated hemoglobin (A1C), blood pressure, and emergency department (ED) utilization. This capstone thoroughly details the proposed evaluation plan created for HS by using Robert Milstein and Scott Wetterhall’s six-step framework for program evaluation. Additionally, further evaluation questions are suggested and discussed in order to provide a more complete picture of program performance to stakeholders.

Many adolescents are at risk of injury as a result of lifestyle, with high morbidity and mortality rates primarily affected by engagement in risk-taking behaviour (AIHW, 2004b). The study aimed to reduce injury through the design, implementation and evaluation of an intervention to affect risk-taking behaviour. The intervention was guided by theory,(Theory of Planned Behavior, TPB Ajzen, 1985) and selectively focused on increasing protective behaviour toward friends. To meet the aim, the intervention focused on the following risk-taking behaviours: alcohol use, interpersonal violence, being a passenger of, and own risky use of a motor vehicle or bicycle. The average age of participants of the study was fourteen. The program of research was divided into three stages that, as a whole, met the aim of designing and evaluating an intervention to reduce risk-taking behaviour among adolescents. The aim of the first stage was to provide the detail required for the program design (Stage 2). Stage 1 comprised a number of research processes including (i) a comprehensive literature review. The literature review included the rationale for reducing injury and risk-taking behaviour among adolescents, examination of the friendship relationship and assessing key issues and components of previously evaluated behaviour change programs. Stage 1 also included (ii) an assessment and operationalisation of the theoretical design (Theory of Planned Behavior and cognitive behavioural strategies). It was also found, in this Study 1, that the constructs of the TPB could explain friends' protective behaviour. Further, Stage 1 included (iii) Study 2, a qualitative evaluation of injury, risk-taking behaviour and key risk and protective factors for risk-taking behaviour from the perspective of young people conducted through focus groups. The information gathered in Stage 1 was used to develop the design of the program which comprised Stage 2. The next stage (Stage 3) involved an impact evaluation of the program. Firstly, in Study 3, a qualitative study was conducted to assess intervention participants' and teachers' perceptions of the program and adolescents' change in behaviour and attitudes. Intervention participants felt that they reduced their risk-taking behaviour and increased their protective behaviour toward their friends. Overall, adolescents and teachers viewed the program favourably. Secondly, in Study 4, a quantitative evaluation was conducted. Preliminary investigations found significant differences in change and behaviours among individuals from different ethnic backgrounds and, as such, analyses were conducted with the majority, Caucasian group only. The results indicated a reduction in risk-taking behaviours from baseline to follow-up in the intervention group and an increase in the comparison group. There was no support for the prediction that intervention students would increase their protective behaviour relative to the control group. Overall, the findings indicated challenges associated with designing and implementing an effective program to reduce risk-taking behaviour among adolescents.

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