Evaluation and program planning
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Evaluation capacity building (ECB) is seldom mentioned in the environmental education (EE) literature, but as demonstrated by the lack and poor quality of EE evaluations, is much needed. This article focuses on an online course, Applied Environmental Education Program Evaluation (AEEPE), which provides nonformal educators with an understanding of how evaluation can be used to improve their EE programs. ⋯ While the course equips environmental educators with the skills necessary to design and implement basic evaluations, there is less certainty that the course contributes to generating demand for evaluation within organizations and the profession. Therefore the authors call on national organizations and associations for help with increasing the demand for ECB in the EE community.
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Environmental education organizations can do more to either institute evaluation or improve the quality of their evaluation. In an effort to help evaluators bridge the gap between the potential for high quality evaluation systems to improve environmental education, and the low level of evaluation in actual practice, we reviewed recent environmental education literature to reveal the challenges and opportunities for evaluating environmental education programs. The literature review identified strategies for confronting the challenges in environmental education evaluation, as well as notable opportunities for increasing the quality of evaluation in environmental education.
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The articles in this special issue cover a range of practices in environmental education evaluation, from program evaluations to training and organizational impact. This article reflects on this collection and offers six recommendations on three broad themes that the issue's authors identify as shortcomings or opportunities for change: capacity building, program theory, and learning organizations.
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Evaluation in environmental education is fairly nascent despite decades-long attention to its importance. In setting the context for future chapters appearing in this special issue of the Journal of Evaluation and Program Planning, attention is devoted to the political circumstances associated with retrenchment in the public sector and increased involvement of citizens in environmental issues in their regions. ⋯ Additional attention is directed to explaining many of the key evaluation theories--utilization-focused evaluation, evaluative capacity building, and program-theory driven evaluation. The final section of this chapter situates the subsequent chapters of this volume based on the demographic target (youth or adult) as well as connection to a particular evaluation theory.
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Rare Pride is a social marketing program that stimulates human behavior change in order to promote biodiversity conservation in critically threatened regions in developing countries. A series of formal evaluation studies, networking strategies, and evaluative inquiries have driven a 20-year process of adaptive management that has resulted in extensive programmatic changes within Pride. ⋯ We argue that (a) qualitative data gathered from partners and staff through structured interviews is most effective at identifying problems with current programs and procedures, (b) networking with other organizations is the most effective strategy for learning of new management strategies, and (c) quantitative data gathered through surveys is effective at measuring program impact and quality. Adaptive management has allowed Rare to increase its Pride program from implementing about two campaigns per year in 2001 to more than 40 per year in 2009 while improving program quality and maintaining program impact.