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RESEARCH PRODUCT

Applying a Mixed Method Design to Evaluate Training Seminars Within an Early Childhood Education Project

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Abstract The body of research relating to assessment in education suggests that professional developers and seminar administrators have generally paid little attention to evaluation procedures. Scholars have also been critical of evaluations which use a single data source and have favoured the use of a multiple method design to generate a complete picture of the effectiveness of procedures under evaluation. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate two training seminars using a mixed method design. The evaluation procedure was specifically designed to utilise triangulation of sources and to follow Killion's eight-step process. The seminars were part of the ‘Early Steps’ project, a European Union (EU) Comenius Programme, concerning the development and implementation of an alternative physical education curriculum for preschool pupils. Results of the study support the assertion that a mixed method design increases the validity of the evaluation procedure. It is suggested here that educational evaluat...