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Virtual Resources Center in Social Work Expert Projects, 2010 SOCIAL RESEARCH REPORTS Vol. 12/ June 2010 SOCIAL RESEARCH REPORTS ISSN: 2066-6861 (print), ISSN: 2067-5941 (electronic) LEARNING CENTER PROJECT IN ROMANIA. EVALUATION REPORT. Corina CACE, Sorin CACE Social Research Reports, 2010, vol. 12, pp. 1-99 The online version of this article can be found at: www.reasearchreports.ro Published by: Expert Projects Publishing House Covered by Index Copernicus International www.indexcopernicus.com Directory of Open Access Journals www.doaj.org On behalf of: Virtual Resources Center in Social Work www.asistentasociala.ro Additional services and information about Social Research Reports can be found at: www.reasearchreports.ro 2 SOCIAL RESEARCH REPORTS Vol. 12/ June 2010 LEARNING CENTER PROJECT IN ROMANIA1. EVALUATION REPORT. Corina CACE2, Sorin CACE3 Abstract Discovery Channel Global Education Partnership (DCGEP) completed an independent evaluation of its Learning Center project in Romania. The purpose of the evaluation was to obtain objective data (enrollment, attendance, pass rates, retention rates) from DCGEP Learning Centers and control schools, to implement creativity test in GEP Learning Centers and in control schools and to identify Learning Centers best practices in three levels - individual, institutional and community. Creativity test was applied in all the six schools chosen to participate in the programme. The data was collected from an equal number of schools that had participated in the DCGEP Learning Center project (“intervention schools”), and schools that had not (“control schools”), in order to be able to compare differences. The control schools were carefully selected to match the intervention schools in terms of their size, context development and location. In order to identify best practices, school directors, teachers, students and parents were interviewed. A participatory data gathering process was used throughout the evaluation process. The positive impact of the programme upon students is obvious. After being involved in DCGEP students have enriched their vocabulary and they have become more creative and communicative. They are now able to perform various activities independently. Due to its design, its monitoring mechanisms and the involvement of all parties, the Discovery programme is a successful one. And taking into account the increasing need for such programmes, especially in rural areas, it is advised that it should be extended to other areas also. Keywords: cvasi-experimental evaluation, attitudes towards education; student motivation; creativity; language development, community involvement; best practices, lessons learned 1Thank you to Claire Maneja and Miruna Popa for their support in the evaluation. Thank you to all the principals, teachers, students and parents who participate in evaluation activities. 2Associate Professor Phd., Head of Theacher Training Department, Academy of Economic Studies, Email: [email protected] 3Senior researcher, Institute for Quality of Life Research (ICCV), Romanian Academy, Email: [email protected] 3 SOCIAL RESEARCH REPORTS Vol. 12/ June 2010 Table of Contents Executive summary.......................................................................................................7 The evaluation findings .................................................................................................8 1. Project Initiation and Delivery Process in each Learning Center................................. 8 2. Educational and socio-political factors affecting the project in Dambovita County ... 8 3. Progress overview.......................................................................................................... 9 4. Results on Student Learning.......................................................................................... 9 5. Best practices and lessons learned............................................................................... 10 Conclusions ........................................................................................................................... 10 Introduction.................................................................................................................11 Project initiation and delivery process in each Learning Center ..................................11 Training and monitoring..............................................................................................12 Volunteer Coordinators ...............................................................................................12 Community Access .......................................................................................................... 13 DCGEP Committee.......................................................................................................... 13 Full utilization of the technology and content................................................................. 13 The three year program of teacher training and support................................................. 13 Romanian educational system ......................................................................................... 14 Strategic directions of the Ministry of Education and Research during 2006 – 2008 ... 15 Pre-primary education...................................................................................................... 15 Primary education ............................................................................................................ 15 Teaching Methods in the Romanian Classroom ............................................................. 17 Lower secondary education ............................................................................................. 19 Educational and socio-political factors affecting the DCGEP project in Romania............. 20 4 SOCIAL RESEARCH REPORTS Vol. 12/ June 2010 Problems encountered in Dambovita County in the field of education............................... 21 Evaluation methodology..............................................................................................26 Definition of Evaluation .................................................................................................. 26 Two Main Types of Evaluation ....................................................................................... 27 Objectives of evaluation .................................................................................................. 27 Data collection ................................................................................................................. 28 Data analysis .................................................................................................................... 28 Themes of evaluation....................................................................................................... 29 Results of evaluation ...................................................................................................31 Language development and creativity .........................................................................34 Quantitative Analysis....................................................................................................... 34 Qualitative Analysis......................................................................................................... 36 Student motivation and attitudes towards education....................................................39 Student motivation ........................................................................................................... 39 Student breadth of perspective......................................................................................... 40 Teachers’ professional development............................................................................43 Parent and Community involvement ...........................................................................46 Parent involvement .......................................................................................................... 46 Community involvement and use of school facilities..................................................... 48 Best practices and lessons learned................................................................................... 49 Background/Context/Problem Identification- Relevance ............................................... 49 Permanent monitoring...................................................................................................... 52 Results/Impact including (Effectiveness, Replicability, Sustainability, Innovative) ....53 Innovative......................................................................................................................... 53 Optional objects of study ................................................................................................. 53 Using video tapes locally produced................................................................................. 54 SOCIAL RESEARCH REPORTS Vol. 12/ June 2010 Effectiveness .................................................................................................................... 56 Sustainability.................................................................................................................... 57 Replicability ..................................................................................................................... 57 Conclusions.................................................................................................................57