The Cooperative Extension Service has been a key partner in the design, implementation and evaluation of leadership development programs. To evaluate the effectiveness of their…
Abstract
The Cooperative Extension Service has been a key partner in the design, implementation and evaluation of leadership development programs. To evaluate the effectiveness of their training and the effects of response shift bias on outcomes using a self-report measure, one hundred forty-seven County Extension Agents participated in this leadership study. Participants were randomly assigned to one of two treatment groups or to a control group. Two different evaluation designs (pre-posttest and then-post) were used. The then-post design asks participants to first report their behavior or understanding as a result of the training (post) and then to retrospectively report this behavior before the training. The then-post evaluation design provided more significant change data than did the traditional pre-posttest design indicating a response shift occurred. Such differences in evaluation findings suggest that the educational benefit of such trainings may be underestimated when using the traditional pre-post evaluation design.
Measuring the Return on Investment (ROI) in training and development has consistently earned a place among the critical issues in the human resource development (HRD) field…
Abstract
Measuring the Return on Investment (ROI) in training and development has consistently earned a place among the critical issues in the human resource development (HRD) field. Leadership educators may soon find that program sponsors and administrators asking for ROI information as well. This paper reports the ROI of the Southern Extension Leadership Development (SELD) program as implemented at The University of Georgia. To calculate the return on investment, the ROI model proposed by Phillips (2002) was used. New extension agents hired between 1995 and 2001 who completed the probationary period with the Cooperative Extension Service formed the population for this analysis. Analysis of the data indicated that the employee turnover rate for the participant group was significantly lower than for the non-participant group. Based on the ROI model calculations, every one-dollar spent in the SELD program returned $3.86 in benefits and $2.86 (286%) in net benefits were returned on Investment.
Laila Suleiman Al-Rawahi and Abdu Mohammad Al-Mekhlafi
The present study investigated the effect of online collaborative project-based learning on the language performance and attitudes of intermediate level students at the College of…
Abstract
The present study investigated the effect of online collaborative project-based learning on the language performance and attitudes of intermediate level students at the College of Applied Sciences in Oman. The study is a quasi-experimental study and the sample consisted of four classes (93 students in total) in Nizwa College of Applied Sciences. These participants were in their foundation year and were taking the Academic English Course during the time of the research experiment. Two classes were assigned to the experimental group (46 students) and they were directed to collaborate online in doing their research projects. The other two classes were assigned to the control group (47 students) and did their projects individually. A language test containing reading and writing questions, an attitude questionnaire, students' project scores and transcripts of focused group discussions were used to collect the data needed to answer the research questions. The study revealed that the main positive effect of online collaborative project-based learning was clear on students' writing skill in the post test (i.e. students in the experimental group outperformed students in the control group).
Joseph Press, Paola Bellis, Tommaso Buganza, Silvia Magnanini, Abraham B. (Rami) Shani, Daniel Trabucchi, Roberto Verganti and Federico P. Zasa
Frederick C. Buskey and Meagan Karvonen
Educational leadership preparation programs are expected to train graduates who change their practice and produce outcomes for teachers and students. However, programs are…
Abstract
Educational leadership preparation programs are expected to train graduates who change their practice and produce outcomes for teachers and students. However, programs are challenged to produce evidence of their impact while also evaluating for formative purposes. This paper describes collaboration between an educational leadership program director and a program evaluator to construct an evaluation system that incorporated program theory, processes, and outcomes. The leadership preparation program, grounded in ethical leadership practices, had a unique design with core tenets that informed choices about the evaluation design. Decisions about data sources were informed by evaluation foci, the availability of existing data sources, and resource constraints. The complexity of the evaluation design paralleled the complexity of the program itself. Leadership content expertise, evaluation design expertise, and genuine collaboration were all essential to the successful design of this evaluation plan. Several recommendations are offered for others collaborating to design evaluations of their programs.