Kirkpatrick plus: Evaluation and continuous improvement with a community focus

For almost 40 years, Donald Kirkpatrick's framework for evaluation has been used as a basic model for the identification and targeting of training-specific interventions in business, government, military, and industry alike. By approaching evaluation from four different perspectives—reaction, learning, behavior, and results—the model has provided a solid basis for the examination of training's impact on the organization. Despite the current practice of measuring one's success according to the success of one's clients, proposed changes in the model have not been frequently adopted. It is therefore likely time for professionals to reevaluate the utility and responsiveness of the Kirk-patrick framework to meet the value-added requirements of today's organizations. This article identifies tools and concepts for being responsive to the new organizational realities not originally addressed by the Kirkpatrick model.     

月光恶魔

I stood on the hill all alone. Staring at the full moon.I was bare-footed and only wearing a thin summer dress that blew in the cold northeastern wind.The cold bit at me but I had no care.As I had been wishing the full moon was growing brighter with every passing moment. The moon was almost as bright     

The efficacy of collaborative networks in preparing teachers

Within the last two decades intercultural teacher education has become a priority in many European countries. The consensus among researchers, it seems, is that intercultural education should begin with the initial training of teachers. In this paper we present the implementation of a collaborative action research programme in which we built a collaborative network through which we tried to help student teachers develop practices of intercultural education. First, we briefly examine the existing situation regarding teacher education in Cyprus and we discuss generally teacher education in relation to intercultural education. Subsequently, we explain the term ‘collaborative networks’ and then analyse the methodology we followed for the research that led to this paper. Finally, we present and analyse, with additional research, the themes that arose through our paper's former data analysis.

Pendant les dernières décennies, dans beaucoup de pays européens, l'éducation interculturelle a pris une place très importante parmis les sujets développés dans le domaine éducatif. Des chercheurs pensent que l'éducation interculturelle doit commencer dès la formation initiale des enseignants (des maîtres). Dans cet article, nous présentons un programmeme de «recherche‐action» collective, pour lequel nous avons créé un réseau de collaboration. A travers ce programmeme nous tentons d'aider les élèves maîtres à développer des pratiques d'éducation interculturelle. Pour commencer, nous examinons brièvement la situation actuelle à Chypre, en ce qui concerne la formation des enseignants et nous nous penchons ensuite sur la dimension interculturelle de l'éducation. Par la suite, nous examinons la notion de «réseaux de collaboration» et analysons la méthodologie suivie pour mener à bien notre recherche, et aboutir à cet article. Pour finir, nous présenterons et argumenterons les principaux sujets dégagés de l'analyse des données.

En las ultimas dos decadas la educacion de profesores intercultural se ha vuelto una prioridad en muchos paises europeos. Parece ser que el consenso entre investigadores es que la educación intercultural deberia empezar con la formación inicial de profesores. En este articulo presentamos la aplicación de un programmea de investigación de mecanismo colaborativo en el que creamos una red de colaboración a traves de la cual intentamos ayudar a los profesores alumnos a desarrollar practicas de educación intercultural. Primero, examinamos brevemente la situación existente tocante a la educación de profesores en Chipre y contrastamos de forma general la educación intercultural con respecto a la de profesorado. Posteriormente, explicamos el termino ‘red de colaboración’ y después analizamos la tecnica que seguimos para la investigación que nos llevo a escribir este articulo. Finalmente, presentamos y analizamos, con investigación adicional, los temas que surgieron a traves de nuestros analisis de datos del articulo anterior.

In den letzten zwei Jahrzehnten hat die interkulturelle Lehrerausbildung in vielen europäischen Ländern zentrale Bedeutung erlangt. Es scheint in der Forschung mittlerweile Konsens darüber zu herrschen, dass interkulturelle Schulung schon bei der Lehrerausbildung einsetzen sollte. In diesem Artikel präsentieren wir die Ergebnisse eines Forschungsprogrammems für kollaborative Netzwerke, in dessen Rahmen ein kollaboratives Netzwerk aufgebaut wurde, durch das wir versuchen, Referendaren bei der Entwicklung interkultureller Lehr‐ und Lerntechniken zu helfen. Wir werden zuerst die gegenwärtige Situation der Lehrerausbildung auf Zypern analysieren und uns dann allgemein mit der Lehrerausbildung in Bezug auf interkulturelle Lerninhalte beschäftigen. Danach werden wir den Terminus “kollaborative Netzwerke” erklären und dann die Methodik erläutern, der wir während der Forschungsarbeit, die zu diesem Artikel geführt hat, gefolgt sind. Im Schlussteil präsentieren und analysieren wir, unter Berücksichtigung weiterer Forschungsarbeiten, die Themen, die während der Datenanalyse in den Vordergrund getreten sind.     

When victims don't cry: children's understandings of victimization, compliance, and subversion

How do children understand situations in which the targets of moral transgressions do not complain about the way they are treated? One-hundred and twenty participants aged 5, 7, 10, 13, and 16 years were interviewed about hypothetical situations in which one child ("transgressor") made an apparently unfair demand of another child ("victim"), who then responded by either resisting, complying, or subverting. In general, 5-year-olds judged compliance positively and resistance negatively and 7- to 16-year-olds judged resistance positively and compliance negatively; all but 16-year-olds judged subversion negatively. Most participants judged the transgressor's actions negatively, regardless of how the victim had responded. The findings are discussed in terms of their implications for children's developing understandings of victimization.     

Using special needs assistants effectively

Leigh Jerwood, the SENCo at Hardley School (a foundation, 11-18, school in Hampshire) considers how teachers can optimise the use of special needsassistants in mainstream secondary schools. Her findings demonstrate that whilst role clarity and collaborative teamwork are increased when assistants are attached to faculty areas, they are most effective in classes where teachers possess good management skills.     

The scientific attitude inventory: A revision (SAI II)

The Scientific Attitude Inventory (SAI) was developed and field tested 25 years ago. It has been used extensively throughout the world, and it continues to be used. Reports of its use and suggestions for revision provide impetus for revision. The revision retains the original position statements of attitudes assessed and the original attitude statements with changes made only to improve readability and to eliminate gender-biased language. Also, in response to critical analysis, the SAI II uses a five-response Likert Scale. The new version is shorter, 40 items instead of 60 in the original. The SAI II was field tested with 557 students in Grades 6, 9, and 12. The top and bottom 27% of scorers for the total inventory were compared for the subscales. A statistically significant difference was obtained for each t-test comparison. Face validity for the SAI II is claimed on the basis of the original judgments of a panel of judges regarding the attitude position statements which have not been altered. A split-half reliability coefficient of .805 was computed for the entire group of 557 respondents. Cronbach's alpha reliability coefficient is .781. J Res Sci Teach 34: 327–336, 1997.     

Meeting the information needs of clinicians for the practice of evidence-based healthcare

This article reports on clinicians’ use of library resources and the competencies they require to access information necessary for the practice of evidence-based healthcare. It is based on the results of a study commissioned by North Thames Region to identify the training needs of clinicians for the adoption and practice of evidence-based healthcare. Participants in this qualitative research study included librarians, clinicians (doctors, nurses and PAMs) and managers from four Acute and Community Trusts in and around London. The research indicates that the majority of clinicians recognize the need to keep up-to-date with changes in their specialty and many visit their libraries on a frequent basis, however, few appear to be searching for information with which to inform their immediate clinical decisions. Our sample acknowledged their low usage of journals such as Bandolier, the Health Effectiveness Bulletin and Journal of Evidence-Based Medicine. Similarly, low use of electronic databases, such as Cochrane and Cinahl, were reported. Examination of skill and self-efficacy levels in accessing and using information databases revealed wide variations across professions, specialities and Trusts. Qualitative research methods were employed to elicit the key competencies required to access clinically relevant research evidence, and a framework for integrating these competencies is presented.