Search

Surveys are frequently employed in needs assessment to collect information about gaps (the needs) in "what is" and "what should be" conditions. Double-scale Likert-type instruments are routinely used for this purpose. Although in accord with the discrepancy definition of need, the quality of such measures is being questioned to the point of suggesting that the results are not to be trusted. Eight factors supporting that proposition are described with explanations of how they operate. Literature-based examples are provided for improving surveys with double scales especially as they relate to attenuating the effects of the factors. Lastly, lessons learned are offered with a call for more research into this issue in assessing needs.

The influence of augmented feedback and self-estimation of errors on the welding skill learning of vocational high school students was the focus of this study. A quasi-experimental research design was utilized by randomly assigning two classes of car repair students to an experimental group and a control group. Each participant had 9 practice trials, took 3 tests (pre, post, and delayed), and received augmented feedback 3 times during the skill acquisition phase. The experimental group was additionally requested to self-estimate their errors by reviewing their work in comparison to a benchmark piece, assessing the differences, and completing a checklist of criteria, while the control group did not undergo this process. The performance of participants improved through the practice period with the experimental group showing significantly greater changes than those in the control condition. For the delayed-test, both groups declined to some extent from the post-test, but the experimental subjects did better comparatively. Augmented feedback with self-estimation of errors appeared beneficial for vocational high school students' motor skill learning.

Depletion of resources and climate change are important factors impacting sustainable development. Energy education, as part of education for sustainable development, is considered an efficient way to raise students' awareness of environmental protection and energy saving. This study aimed at understanding the energy literacy of high school students in Vietnam, and explored the factors that influence students' energy-saving behavior as a basis for considering the effectiveness of the energy education program. An online and paper version energy-literacy survey was conducted. Participants were 600 12th-graders from high schools in Northern, Central and Southern Vietnam. Structural equation modeling was used to test the hypotheses of the relationships between energy knowledge, energy-related values, attitude toward energy saving, energy saving intention and behavior. Welch's ANOVA was conducted to examine whether energy-saving behavior differed by group. The results showed that 12th-graders' energy knowledge tended to be low, while their perceived values, attitude, intention and behavior related to saving energy were relatively high. There was no direct effect of energy knowledge on their energy-saving intention or behavior, while an indirect effect was observed if value and attitude toward energy saving were taken as mediators. Based on the participants' self-reported data, public-school students performed more behaviors to reduce energy consumption than those from private schools. In addition, the major source from which students gained energy knowledge was the mass media. According to the results, implications related to energy policy and instruction were generated.

To understand how information communication technology (ICT) educational policies have been put into practice in educational settings, we used the acceptance model to analyze the role of teacher characteristics in their acceptance of educational policies. By reframing the present technology acceptance model for the context of ICT educational policy, we employed two external factors to explore the correlates of perceived ease of understanding policy (ease of understanding) and perceived ease of incorporating policy (ease of incorporating) into teaching settings to predict the perceived value of the students' learning (value to students). Questionnaires were delivered by email to those participants who attended in-service professional development programs in Taiwan, and data of 372 teachers were collected for confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling. The results showed that personal traits (self-efficacy and innovativeness in information technology) were positively related to ease of understanding and ease of incorporating; both ease of understanding and ease of incorporating were positively related to value to students; and value to students was positively related to attitude toward implementing future ICT educational policies. The findings of this study may be particularly useful to policy-makers in those countries which often change their ICT educational policy.

The college retention rates for underrepresented minorities (URM) in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) are lower than other groups. One reason may be that the studies often do not view premature departure from a cultural perspective. This exploratory investigation focused on developing an instrument that employed a cultural perspective to detect differences based on racial/ethnic group affiliation. The instrument derived from the literature is examined using principal components analysis in an attempt to discover the underlying constructs and identify meaningful variables. Multivariate analysis was used for comparing groups. A description of the study is presented and its application with a sample of underrepresented minorities from 15 public and private universities in Ohio. (Contains 6 tables.)

Training is critical for the growth of the evaluation profession as more qualified and competent individuals will be required to meet the increased demand for evaluation. This paper deals with the training needs of professionals and is based on a part of a study on the status and challenges of educational program evaluation in the Asia-Pacific region. A web-based Delphi was used with a needs assessment framework for examining the current nature of training, what should be done, and discrepancies (gaps) between the two. The results should be of value for academic training programs and those in non-academic settings. (Contains 5 tables.)

While educational program evaluation has become more important in recent years because of increasing governmental demands for accountability, little is known about the development of and issues in regard to this topic in the Asia-Pacific region. The findings from a Delphi study conducted in a number of relevant countries are provided in this article. Thirty panelists participated in three rounds of iterations to identify current status, challenges, and concerns in the near future. The results should be of value to educational evaluators, researchers, and decision makers. (Contains 7 tables.)

The retention rates for African-Americans, Hispanics, and Native-Americans in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) are lower than those of White or Asian college students. In response, the National Science Foundation formed statewide partnerships of universities to develop programs to address this disparity. The deliberations and experiences in evaluating one such partnership are retrospectively reviewed. Problems and issues encountered during conceptualization and implementation are presented. Lessons learned from this endeavor should generalize to similar situations and provide guidance for others new to or interested in evaluating STEM retention programs as well as those evaluating collaborative endeavors. (Contains 4 tables.)

Although the Delphi is widely used, research on certain methodological issues is somewhat limited. After a brief introduction to the strengths, limitations, and methodological challenges of the technique, we share our experiences (as well as problems encountered) with an electronic Delphi of educational program evaluation (EPE) in the Asia-Pacific region. The study is described followed by a discussion of the difficulties in participant recruitment and selection, sample size, instrumentation, data collection and analysis and attempts to resolve them. Some of these problems are generic to the Delphi whereas others related to the specifics of the investigation. What we learned should be useful for future Delphis with a similar focus. (Contains 6 tables.)

Needs assessment (NA) is generally based on the discrepancy between two conditions--the desired and present states. To date, there has not been an extensive research regarding a number of subtle problems in discrepancy analysis. One such example is missing data for one or both the two states. This leads to highly varied item "n's" for calculating discrepancy scores. Concerns like this arose in a NA study of minority students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics programs in universities. A number of problems observed in this context are discussed as well as possible solutions for them. The results should be valuable to needs assessors and evaluators responsible for assessing needs. (Contains 4 figures and 5 tables.)

To understand how information communication technology (ICT) educational policies have been put into practice in educational settings, we used the acceptance model to analyze the role of teacher characteristics in their acceptance of educational policies. By reframing the present technology acceptance model for the context of ICT educational policy, we employed two external factors to explore the correlates of perceived ease of understanding policy (ease of understanding) and perceived ease of incorporating policy (ease of incorporating) into teaching settings to predict the perceived value of the students' learning (value to students). Questionnaires were delivered by email to those participants who attended in-service professional development programs in Taiwan, and data of 372 teachers were collected for confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling. The results showed that personal traits (self-efficacy and innovativeness in information technology) were positively related to ease of understanding and ease of incorporating; both ease of understanding and ease of incorporating were positively related to value to students; and value to students was positively related to attitude toward implementing future ICT educational policies. The findings of this study may be particularly useful to policy-makers in those countries which often change their ICT educational policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]