Challenges for environmental education evaluation

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.     

Changing stakeholder needs and changing evaluator roles: the Central Valley Partnership of the James Irvine foundation

This case describes the changing roles of an evaluator as the program he was evaluating changed and developed, and as the needs of his client and primary intended users changed over time. The focus in this case is on the relationship between the external evaluator and the staff of a philanthropic foundation as a major initiative unfolded. The focus of the evaluation was learning and improvement, and as the evaluator developed recommendations for organizational capacity-building, he was commissioned by the foundation to implement his own recommendations, a form of developmental evaluation. The case explores the dynamics and challenges of such an arrangement and relationship. Those involved have agreed to have their real names used because this is a highly visible initiative and attempting to disguise the foundation and key players might undermine, in this instance, the authenticity of the case. The initiative that is the focus of the case is the Central Valley Partnership of The James Irvine Foundation headquartered in San Francisco.     

Religion and Women's Sex Role Traditionalism

Abstract

The relationship between religion and sex role orientations is examined in a 1964 NORC sample of white, married college graduate women. The analysis finds substantial differences among religious groups. Baptists, Catholics, and fundamentalist Protestants have the most traditional sex role attitudes, followed by mainline Protestants, Jews, and religious “nones.” These differences are not explained by controls for social characteristics or religious involvement. It is argued that many of these differences would still exist in a contemporary, more representative sample. Some alternative explanations of the findings are discussed.     

Herpes: Coping and Caring—A Total College Health Program

Abstract

This article seeks to assist college health nurses in developing appropriate protocols for patient care. In addition, the authors outline factors influencing protocol content, design, and development and describe steps in creating individualized protocols by practice setting. To provide college health nurses with a basic understanding of protocols, the authors offer definitions and examples of appropriate and inappropriate use, and show how protocols can influence the delivery of patient care. Although protocols may provide college health nurses with directives for managing specific health problems, they require a sophisticated level of judgment and skill in their implementation.     

Transition from Home Care to Nursing Home: Unmet Needs in a Home- and Community-Based Program for Older Adults

A major effort is under way nationally to shift long-term care services from institutional to home- and community-based settings. This article employs quantitative and qualitative methods to identify unmet needs of consumers who transition from a statewide home- and community-based service program for older adults to long-term nursing home residence. Administrative data, care manager notes, and focus group discussions identified program service gaps that inadequately accommodated acute health problems, mental health issues, and stressed family caregivers; additional unmet needs highlighted an inadequate workforce, transportation barriers, and limited supportive housing options. National and state-level policy implications are considered.     

Not on their own again: psychological, social, and health characteristics of custodial African American grandmothers

The article presents social and health indicators of depression among custodial African American grandmothers. Using a cross-sectional design, a sample of 99 custodial African American grandmothers caring for one or more grandchildren was included in the analysis. The results indicated that approximately 20% of custodial African American grandmothers were depressed. Depressed grandmothers were more likely to report having all ten chronic physical health conditions listed in the study. One additional chronic condition increased the probability of depression by 68%. Old age, more social support, and caring for older children were associated with low levels of depression. The proliferation of grandchildren being raised by African American grandmothers suggests the need for more research, policy, and programmatic interventions.