This paper innovatively extends the application of transactional distance theory (TDT) to evidence-based policy development in Mauritius. In-depth interview data on student persistence from a range of stakeholders is used to understand the implications of distance education (DE) policy deficit. Policy deficit has surfaced as another dimension of…

Environmental education and communications may not be received openly by some audiences on the grounds that content represents only one perspective on an issue. Accordingly there is increasing appreciation of the need to recognize and include diverse groups' perspectives when designing environmental communications in order to reach and affect…

The New Zealand technology curriculum suggests that schools should seek to develop links with industry as a means of providing real-world examples of technology practice. However, if a school is to form links, what form might such links take, and with whom should they be made? The case study research reported here represents an investigation into…

The aim of this report is, first of all, to present the KP-Lab approach toward stakeholders in the wider framework of European policies. Secondly, the KP-Lab definition of stakeholders and the strategy to address different stakeholders needs, concerns and expectations is presented in the following paragraphs. The second chapter presents concrete…

Building on the results of a prior study, the purpose of this qualitative study was to further explore where there is agreement on the effects of e-­learning technologies in higher education learning experiences. The results confirm that (1) there are many varied and polarized perspectives about e­learning, and each position should be carefully…

This study reports the out come of a primary qualitative investigation of open and distance learning system of education as a panacea to the problem of socially induced constraints on the acquisition of education, that may lead to the inability to attend higher institutions of learning, acquire certificates, become a qualified skilled worker by…

Two College of Education faculty members describe their journeys as "professors in residence" immersed in schoolwide change efforts at two different partnership schools. Collaboration with school staff, students' families, and community agencies led to the formation of significant alliances that contributed to the process of school…

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the systemic change process and strategies used by key stakeholders within a local education agency when they changed from the traditional discrepancy model for learning disabilities identification to the Response to Intervention (RTI) model. The results of this study suggest that the change to…

The University of Florida Libraries took the opportunity of remodeling its Humanities and Social Sciences library to conceptualize the design of an info commons area for the new building. An Info Commons Concept Team was formed and charged with this task. The team used site visits, surveys, focus groups, and interviews to determine the needs of…

This manual was designed for Catholic Relief Services staff who want to improve the health and nutrition component of maternal and child health programs. The methodology presented had already been used in two country programs in Africa, and the experiences in those program evaluations made this guide to participatory evaluation useful for other…

Bank's report of a long-term evaluation of the Bureau of Jewish Education, discussed in the previous article, is reviewed and commented on from the following points of views: (1) effects of local ecology on evaluation activities; (2) implications of the case study for the role and training of evaluators; and (3) unemphasized aspects of the case…

The majority of educational systemic change efforts are driven by the experts in the field, leaving the general public disenfranchised. An analysis of stories of those excluded from educational innovation is presented. It is suggested that if "stories" shape social reality as much as by what they exclude as what they include, then the stories from…

L. Cronbach has made the point that for validity arguments to be convincing to diverse audiences, they need to be based on assumptions that are credible to these audiences. The interpretations and uses of high stakes test scores rely on a number of policy assumptions about what should be taught in schools, and more specifically, about the content…

The President's New Freedom Commission on Mental Health solicited public comment from stakeholders in the mental health community on various topics related to the Commissions mission. The goal was to gain a better understanding of the publics experiences with, concerns about, and hopes for the mental health care system. More than twelve hundred…

A multi-case study was used in the self-study of three programs within an academic department of a mid-sized Southern university. Multi-case methodology as a form of self-study encourages a process of self-renewal and programmatic change as it defines an active stakeholder role. The participants in the three case studies were university faculty…