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Orientation: Interest in measuring the impact of skills development interventions has increased in recent years. Research purpose: This article reports on an outcomes evaluation under the ambit of an impact assessment with reference to a research methodology workshop. Motivation of the study: A paucity of studies could be found measuring the workshop outcomes, especially within the public service as it pertains to training interventions. Research approach/design and method: A pretest–post-test research design was implemented. A paired-sample t-test was used to measure the knowledge increase while controlling for the influence of previous training by means of an analysis of variance and multiple regression analysis. Main findings: Results indicated that the increase in research methodology knowledge was statistically significant. Previous training influenced the model only by 0.8%, which was not statistically significant. Practical/managerial implications: It is recommended that the suggested framework and methodology be utilised in future research as well as in monitoring and evaluation endeavours covering various training interventions. Contribution/value add: The study provides evidence of the impact generated by a training intervention, within the South African Public Service. Thus, addressing a research gap in the corpus of knowledge.

In recent years, the issue of using bilingual education has come to the public’s attention. A widespread belief is that students in bilingual classes achieve a higher competence in the language, but that they lag behind in subject-specific knowledge when compared to fellow students in traditional (i.e. monolingual) classroom settings. Nevertheless, by evaluating knowledge gain in a short teaching unit, previous studies have shown that bilingual students rarely experience drawbacks. Although there are a variety of different opinions, the present study aims at detecting how subject-specific knowledge is influenced by bilingual biology lessons. The study was conducted at a grammar school in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, with 13- and 14-year-old students. To assess differences in students’ knowledge gain, test and control groups were used, in which students were taught 12 identical biology lessons in a bilingual and a traditional classroom. The unit consisted of basic characteristics seen in (social) insects. Both classes took a knowledge test before and after the unit. We hypothesised that there would be a higher increase in knowledge for the bilingual class compared to the monolingual class. Results suggested a slightly higher knowledge gain in bilingual students, but no significant differences were revealed.

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[english] In 1999 a interdiciplinary, formative progress test for medical students has been established at the Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin. It contents of 200 MC-questions on a graduate level and is performed at the beginning of each semester since then. The ascertained test data is evaluated and reported back in a detailed written feedback to each participant. After initial problems in recruiting new item authors and an efficient administration of test items the progress test now is a well established and accepted feedback instrument and the results of the last years confirmed that knowledge increase of different semesters and different curricula can be shown through a progress test. Since 2000 the workgroup “Progress Test Medizin” cooperates with the university in Witten /Herdecke, and since 2003 the progress test is also performed at four additional medical faculties. This minimizes the effort per participant and therefore allows further development and research. [german] Seit 1999 wird an der Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin ein fächerübergreifender, formativer Progress Test für Medizinstudierende durchgeführt. Er beinhaltet 200 MC-Fragen auf Absolventenniveau und wird zu Anfang jedes Semesters durchgeführt. Die erhobenen Daten werden detailliert in bezug auf die Vergleichsgruppe ausgewertet und als Rückmeldung an die Teilnehmer ausgegeben. Nach anfänglichen Schwierigkeiten vor allem bei der Gewinnung neuer Fragenautoren und der effizienten Verwaltung der Testfragen ist der Progress Test Medizin an der Charité mittlerweile ein etabliertes und anerkanntes Feedbackinstrument. Die Ergebnisse der letzten Jahre haben gezeigt, dass mit dem Progress Test der Wissenszuwachs über mehrere Semester und verschiedene Curricula dargestellt werden kann. Seit 2000 kooperiert die Arbeitsgruppe Progress Test Medizin mit der Universität Witten/Herdecke und seit Herbst 2003 wird der Progress Test an vier weiteren deutschen Fakultäten durchgeführt. Dies minimiert den Aufwand pro Testteilnehmer deutlich und ermöglicht die konsequente Weiterentwicklung und Forschung auf diesem Gebiet.

The study was designed to assess changes in farmers' knowledge of farmer seed production through schools (FSPSs) in Vietnam. A set of 25 questions covering five technical areas of the seed production process was used for pre and post knowledge testing at 12 FSPSs in the provinces Binh Dinh, Nam Dinh, Nghe An and Dong Thap. The main findings show an overall increase in farmer's knowledge scores after attending the FSPS. FSPS-farmers with low scores on the pre-field school test (ex-ante) scored much better on the post field school test. Gender had no effect on the test scores. Binh Dinh province had significantly higher mean scores on the post field (ex-post) school test compared to farmers in Nam Dinh, Nghe An and Dong Thap provinces. The increase in knowledge score is linked to the application of good practices learned in the field school as farmers who applied good quality seeds, low seed rates and the transplanting method showed a large increase in scores. The results of this study indicate that the tests provide insight into the knowledge gaps. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents information on the development of geological education, research and development (R&D) institutions, professional associations and academic intercourse in China during 1912 to 1937. The analysis of the development is done on the basis the process of the institutionalization of Chinese geology. The authors conclude that the rapid increase in geological knowledge in China and its institutionalization were positively correlated.