| Abstract: | The Population Education Program (PEP) of the Department of Education and Culture in the Philippines takes pride in a built-in evaluation system which assesses accomplishments primarily in light of objectives laid out and gathers feedback useful in improving future training programs. Its evaluation theoretically serves to measure 3 training dimensions -- before, during, and after each training course. Evaluation of both the 5- and 1-week training programs follows the same pattern. Pretraining evaluation is done by administering a pretest at the beginning of each course, which quantitatively measures trainees' baseline knowledge and attitudes. It is intended for the use of trainers in determining how the course should proceed. Assessment made while training is in progress (formative evaluation) is done through a steering committee meeting held at the end of a week or a day for the 5- and 1-week courses, respectively. The meetings focus on identifying weaknesses requiring immediate or future course revisions. At the end of the course, a posttest is given to measure positive or negative changes in the trainees' knowledge and attitudes. These changes are assumed to have been caused by training. Additional qualitative information is collected through an evaluation sheet containing open-ended questions on different aspects of the course. Problems of "who" should evaluate and "how to" evaluate are among current problems evident in practice, and a revised training scheme has been implemented to deal with these problems. |
