SUGGESTIONS FOR USE

Implementation

There are four instruments. The correlation table shows how the three evaluation instruments are linked. A small program in which nearly everyone could participate in an evaluation process might only need the main Program Questionnaire as a guide. Larger programs or ones where people are scattered over large distances may need to distribute and collect the individual questionnaires for Tutors and Learners to get the feedback required.

The ways in which the various instruments are used will probably vary with each program. It is recommended that the evaluation be done once a year or at the end of each program cycle if there is more than one of these in a twelve month period. However, when you choose to do it will depend on your own schedule and needs. If the planning aspect is to be taken seriously, then enough time should be allowed for an evaluation strategy to be implemented as well as for a discussion of the results including decision-making on priorities for the next year or cycle. You may decide to go through the evaluation process around the middle of the program year, perhaps during a less busy time. The advantage then would be that you possibly could make some adjustments while the program was operating instead of waiting until the next year.

Here are some ways in which different kinds of programs could use the process.

1. A small program of say, a dozen matched pairs in an isolated town or rural area, may want to call a meeting of all the tutors and ask them to come for a daytime or evening session of about three hours to discuss the program. They could be asked to invite any interested learners to come along as well. If it were just a tutor group, the coordinator might have the tutors fill out the tutor questionnaire ahead of time as a "warm up" to the meeting. At the meeting, the tutors could discuss their ratings and comments together. They would get to know how others were managing and feeling about the program and it would give the coordinator immediate feedback and an opportunity to discuss any of his/her concerns. The coordinator might then select a few other statements from the Program Questionnaire to generate further discussion.