Jeff M. Allen

Measures of Program Effectiveness Based on Retrospective Pretest Data: Are All Created Equal?:

This study analyzed data from four evaluation designs incorporating the retrospective pretest (i.e., thentest), analyzing the effects of self-report pretesting and post-program survey format on a set of self-report measures. Validity of self-report data was assessed by comparing the criterion validity of then ratings to established benchmarks and by including a control condition. This study found that designs incorporating separate posttest and thentest surveys yielded the most comparable levels of criterion validity for then ratings and the least biased measures of program effectiveness. Conversely, designs that incorporated a single post-program survey, with adjacent post and then items, yielded the least comparable levels of criterion validity for then ratings and the most biased measures of program effectiveness. This study also found a slight interaction between the effects of self-report pretesting and post-program survey format. Implications for program evaluation are discussed.

Nontraditional Students in Community Colleges and the Model of College Outcomes for Adults

The purpose of this study was to examine three components of Donaldson and Grahams (1999) model of college outcomes for adults: (a) Prior Experience & Personal Biographies, (b) the Connecting Classroom, and (c) Life-World Environment. The study was also to assess the application of these components to traditional and nontraditional students in community colleges in both technical and nontechnical courses. This study found that nontraditional students vary from traditional students in regards to the three model constructs. A post hoc descriptive discriminate analysis determined that the Life-World Environment component contributed the most to group differences with the minimally nontraditional group scoring the highest on this construct.

Corporate Chaplaincy Programs: An Exploratory Study Relates Corporate Chaplain Activities to Employee Assistance Programs

This study is in response to a recent increase in the use of chaplains across corporate America and fills a void in the research literature. It explored the activities of corporate chaplains, identifying the precise functions they perform. Similarities were found between the problems that employees discussed with corporate chaplains and the issues traditionally addressed by employee assistance providers. Differences across industry type, firm size, and contract tenure were also analyzed and are reported. Findings indicate that the majority of problems discussed with corporate chaplains were psychological issues and relationship matters. Implications for practice and research are discussed.

Teams as a sub‐process for knowledge management

Purpose – Within the expansive body of literature on knowledge management, very little research is found that examines the use of teams as a sub‐process for knowledge management. This article addresses this limitation by seeking to provide a theoretical framework that examines the similarities between the benefits of incorporating teams into the workplace and incorporating knowledge management principles. Recognizing that knowledge management has several critical dimensions, the framework that ties workplace teams to each of these knowledge management dimensions is built. Knowledge management and teams in the workplace are viewed at the individual, team and organizational level of analysis.Design/methodology/approach – This is a conceptual paper that reviews current literature on teams and matches the functions of teams to those of knowledge management critical dimensions as outlined by Argote et al. knowledge management context and knowledge management outcomes.Findings – The deficit in current literatur...

College Course Grades for Dual Enrollment Students

This study compared college course grade outcomes, both during and after high school, of dual-enrollment students to those of traditional students. The study was based on a large, multiyear sample of Iowa high school and community college students. The results showed that while in high school, dual-enrollment students consistently outperformed traditional students in community college courses. However, much of the difference might be due to underlying differences in the two groups associated with the type of college the students chose to attend after high school (i.e., four-year vs. two-year). Dual enrollment students tended to perform about the same as traditional students in terms of post-high-school community college course grades. For students who enrolled in four-year institutions after high school, analyses of college course grade data suggested a small positive effect of dual enrollment on first-year college grade point average (GPA).

Learning in 2010: Instructional Challenges for Adult Career and Technical Education

Decades of research into learning have demonstrated that learners are diverse, changing, and adaptable. In this regard, the practice as educators must become flexible and adaptive to meet the wide variation of learning needs. A general consensus exists among educators, businesses, and other stakeholders that there is a significant gap between the knowledge and skills needed for success in life and the current state of education in schools throughout the world (The Conference Board et al., 2006). The internet, social networking, and distance education have created learners with a different set of characteristics, incoming skills, needs, desires, and goals. To meet the learning challenges of the 21st century, instructors must serve as catalysts of change by encouraging classrooms of open dialogue and developing the ability to effectively and efficiently use online communications. Through the process of learning from one another through problem-based activities, students and instructors improve the student-instructor relationship, encounter challenges, and solve them collaboratively.

Virtual HRD and National Culture: An Information Processing Perspective.

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to provide researchers with a better understanding of the cultural impact on information processing in virtual learning environment. Design/methodology/approach – This study uses a causal loop diagram to depict the cultural impact on information processing in the virtual human resource development (VHRD) learning platform. This study takes a theoretical approach and examines current literature pertaining to VHRDs, virtual worlds (VWs), system dynamics, causal loop diagrams (CLDs) and cross-cultural studies. Findings – This study provides a conceptual model to describe and discuss the cultural impact on information processing in VHRD. Research limitations/implications – Literature has begun to reflect the concerns with cultural impact in VHRD; however, research is still in the beginning stages. This study proposes a conceptual model of information processing that includes the cultural impact. Future work based on this study will continue to test and improve the concep...