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Methodological Lessons and Planning Insights From a Formative Evaluation of a Pilot of Afghanistan's Teacher Education Program (TEP) Initiative
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| Presenter(s):
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| Mohammad Javad Ahmadi,
Creative Associates International Inc,
mohammadj@af.caii.com
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| Abstract:
The Teacher Education Program (TEP) is Afghanistan's new national in-service teacher training initiative. It was implemented as a pilot in several provinces across Afghanistan. A formative evaluation was conducted to provide recommendations for expanding TEP nationwide. Several methods were used in this research in order to cross check the findings: survey research, in-depth interviews, and focus groups. In this paper, the challenges of using each research method will be discussed. Some of problems we encountered included language issues, lack of mutual trust (the result of years of civil war), and lack of analytic thinking ability by the participants. What we found from this research is that using questionnaires one can only rarely elicit people's true thoughts and opinions; using in-depth interviewing in a qualitative research context -despite some challenges- seems to be the most appropriate approach.
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Designing Effective Multi-country Evaluations: Lessons Learned From a Large Scale Teacher Training Program
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| Presenter(s):
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| Roshni Menon,
Education Development Center Inc,
rmenon@edc.org
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| Daniel Light,
Education Development Center Inc,
dlight@edc.org
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| Abstract:
This paper presentation focuses on designing effective international multi-site evaluations, a particularly relevant topic for today's increasingly global and interconnected world. The objectives of this presentation are to delineate the inherent challenges in developing an evaluation design that can be used in multiple countries and to offer the audience some proven strategies to think about when planning such an evaluation. Data from the evaluation of the Intel Teach Essentials Course, a professional development program for teachers, will be used to illustrate how an effective evaluation design can ensure maintenance of the program's core goals and quality in its localized delivery while generating relevant information for local stakeholders in each country. The Intel Teach Essentials Course is a public/private partnership between the Intel Foundation and the national ministries of education, and seeks to increase teachers' use of technology and change their pedagogical beliefs and practices to reflect more inquiry-driven, project-based approaches.
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Tracking the Consistency: Evaluating the Curriculum Reform Policy in China
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| Presenter(s):
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| Wenhui Yuan,
Western Michigan University,
whyuan99@gmail.com
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| Abstract:
China started the nationwide curriculum reform in basic education in 2001. Now the stage of pilot study has ended and the new curricula system is being fully implemented throughout the country in a top-down way. In this article, the local curriculum reform policies in four provinces with different socioeconomic status will be evaluated. The main method will be content analysis and the focus will be their consistency with the policy from the central government. The Program Evaluation Standards will be used as the frame of reference. Recommendations for implementing curriculum reform policy in China, as well as the use of The Program Evaluation Standards in Chinese cultural context, will be made with caution.
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