Evaluation strategies of environmental education centres

Abstract

The article presents results of qualitative research focused on evaluation strategies of centres for environmental education in the Czech Republic. It identifies four main evaluation strategies and associated variables. Its main finding is identification of four main evaluation strategies based on differences in data collection processes and whether the evaluation is undertaken internally or externally: the first type characterizes centres that rely mainly on teachers' experience. They are dependent on teachers' unstructured observations and do not use further research methods. The second type is centres' use of various kinds of structured observations, the observers are usually colleagues or the teacher. The third type consists of centres whose teachers evaluate their programs on the basis of students' behavior during the program. They usually use some form of student-oriented teaching that gives students an opportunity for self-expression. The fourth type tries to exploit research methods based on different methods for collecting data about knowledge, attitudes, skills and behavior of students. Because of lack of experience, they seek external evaluators from universities or other organizations.