Programme evaluation and educational policy development : an exploration

<p>Programme evaluation in education began as a form of public inquiry and has developed into a tool for informing policy development. This process has accompanied the government's focus on outcomes rather than outputs and the current global demand for accountability. In recent years there has been an increase in the letting of contracts by the New Zealand Ministry of Education for the production of evidence to support educational policy and this has included the evaluation of programmes designed to improve teaching and raise student achievement. The study reports the historical development of programme evaluation and the different schools of thought which have evolved. It outlines the management of formative programme evaluation within the Ministry of Education's Research Division and describes Rist's approach to policy making, used in the Numeracy Development Project. Two large-scale programmes, the Strengthening Education in Mangere/Otara (SEMO) Project and the Numeracy Development Project, are discussed as examples of initiatives involving programme evaluation. The results of both have informed policy and have been extended more widely. The relationship between research and programme evaluation is discussed with reference to the Performance-Based Research Fund.</p>

Programme evaluation and educational policy development : an exploration

<p>Programme evaluation in education began as a form of public inquiry and has developed into a tool for informing policy development. This process has accompanied the government's focus on outcomes rather than outputs and the current global demand for accountability. In recent years there has been an increase in the letting of contracts by the New Zealand Ministry of Education for the production of evidence to support educational policy and this has included the evaluation of programmes designed to improve teaching and raise student achievement. The study reports the historical development of programme evaluation and the different schools of thought which have evolved. It outlines the management of formative programme evaluation within the Ministry of Education's Research Division and describes Rist's approach to policy making, used in the Numeracy Development Project. Two large-scale programmes, the Strengthening Education in Mangere/Otara (SEMO) Project and the Numeracy Development Project, are discussed as examples of initiatives involving programme evaluation. The results of both have informed policy and have been extended more widely. The relationship between research and programme evaluation is discussed with reference to the Performance-Based Research Fund.</p>

Multiple inter-university online lesson programs in conflict areas-evaluation for improvement

Peacebuilding and conflict prevention studies play a crucial role in promoting peace on earth. Such studies must be evaluated in order to ensure they are as effective as possible. At the Tokyo University of Foreign Studies (TUFS), Japan, Associate Professor Mitsuru Ikeda, Professor Toru Miyagi and Dr Aya Fukuda are part of a team that have developed an educational programme on peacebuilding and conflict prevention that connects several universities in Asia via an online conference system. The Global Campus Program (GCP) is novel for many reasons, particularly because of its psychological angle. Ikeda is a psychologist who is a proponent of the importance of the involvement of psychology in conflict prevention education. This is because armed conflicts are caused by the human mind and psychology is also closely linked to programme evaluation research. Through the GCP, Ikeda, Miyagi and Fukuda are performing a programme evaluation of peacebuilding and conflict prevention education. This involves inviting students from different parts of the world, including conflict-affected countries and enhancing students' learning through interaction and dialogue. The researchers use two major psychological theoretical models in their work: mere exposure effect and the idea that co-action based on common goals deepens mutual understanding.

Research orientations related to guidance and counselling programmes: A content analysis study

Los servicios de orientación y asesoramiento psicológico, que se consideran parte integrante del sistema educativo, se refieren al conjunto de servicios sistemáticos que se ofrecen de acuerdo con un determinado plan y programa. Los programas de orientación y asesoramiento (POA) son de considerable importancia en la prestación de estos servicios basados ​​en datos y pruebas y en la obtención de la eficiencia esperada de los servicios. El objetivo de este estudio es evaluar los estudios sobre POA en términos de análisis de contenido, revelar la situación actual y determinar las orientaciones de investigación científica relacionadas con estos estudios. Con este estudio, se pretendía que el personal de campo, los educadores y los investigadores reconocieran los desajustes en el campo de POA, obtengan diferentes perspectivas sobre sus campos de estudio y arrojen luz sobre nuevas investigaciones en este campo. Los datos relacionados con este estudio, que fue diseñado según el modelo de encuesta descriptiva utilizando metodología de investigación cualitativa, se obtuvieron mediante el método de revisión de documentos. En relación con el tema de investigación, se examinaron 105 estudios de tesis de posgrado en la base de datos de tesis y disertaciones de ProQuest entre 2007 y 2019, y 133 artículos de revistas en la base de datos de Web of Science. Los datos obtenidos se evaluaron mediante el método de análisis de contenido descriptivo. Los estudios sobre el tema han aumentado en los últimos años y más de la mitad de las investigaciones se han realizado en Estados Unidos. Se observó que los estudios experimentales se realizaron utilizando la metodología de investigación más cuantitativa, que se puso más énfasis en el proceso de evaluación del programa y que se estudiaron grupos de muestra de diferentes niveles, especialmente orientadores escolares. Además, hay algunos hallazgos que respaldan que hay más estudios sobre programas de intervención y prevención basados ​​en la comunidad que estudios basados ​​en la escuela, y también respaldan el hecho de que las investigaciones relacionadas con la escuela están prestando especial atención a investigar los efectos, las percepciones y experiencias, el diseño y la evaluación del programa. Finalmente, se interpretaron los resultados de los hallazgos de la investigación y se presentaron las recomendaciones para los investigadores. Guidance and psychological counselling services, which are seen as an integral part of the education system, refer to the whole of systematic services offered in line with a certain plan and programme. Guidance and counselling programmes (G&CP) are of considerable importance in the provision of these services based on data and evidence and in obtaining the expected efficiency from the services. The aim of this study is to evaluate the studies on G&CP in terms of content analysis, to reveal the current situation and to determine the scientific research orientations related to these studies. With this study, it was aimed that field staff, educators and researchers should recognise the gaps in the G&CP field, gain different perspectives on their fields of study and shed light on new research in this field. The data related to this study, which was designed according to the descriptive survey model using qualitative research methodology, were obtained by document review method. In connection with the topic of research, 105 graduate thesis studies in the ProQuest Dissertations and Theses database between 2007 and 2019 and 133 journal articles in the Web of Science database were examined. The obtained data were evaluated using the descriptive content analysis method. Studies on the subject have increased in recent years and more than half of the research has been carried out in the United States. It was observed that experimental studies were conducted using the most quantitative research methodology, that more emphasis was placed on the programme evaluation process and that sample groups at different levels, especially school counsellors, were studied. Additionally, there are some findings supporting that there are more studies concerning community-based preventive and intervention programmes than school-based studies, and also supporting the fact that school-related researches are especially paying attention to investigate the effects of the programme, perceptions and experiences of the programme, programme design and programme evaluation. Finally, the results from the research findings were interpreted and the recommendations for the researchers were presented.