Research and Evaluation
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section includes examples of evaluations and research that
have been conducted in the Soros Network, including concepts
and evaluation briefs, final written evaluations, examples
of instruments, etc. Also includes the REI "tool kit"
on monitoring and evaluation that was developed to support
teams to design their monitoring and evaluation plans that
were required for participation in the project. |
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| Equal
access to quality education for Roma
EUMAP
of the Open Society Institute released "Equal access
to quality education for Roma" in the framework of
the conference. It presents a comprehensive analysis of
basic educational indicators as well as an analysis of
the main constraints and barriers preventing Roma from
obtaining full access to quality education in Bulgaria,
Hungary, Romania, and Serbia. It is available here
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| REI
Final Report
The
Roma Education Initiative was designed to work on both
the international and national levels, and included grant-making
and technical assistance functions. Though all projects
were aligned with the overall REI goals and principles,
and implemented the comprehensive approach methodology,
each project was unique, based on the situation and context
of each country. From its inception in 2002, REI funded
seven national-level projects in Bulgaria, Hungary, Macedonia,
Montenegro, Serbia, Slovakia, and Slovenia. In addition,
REI provided support to other national efforts focused
on Roma education in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia,
and Kosovo, through technical assistance and/or inclusion
of implementing teams in international events.
REI
did not envisage a centralized evaluation due to the variation
in implementation and timeframes of projects; difficulties
over the comparability of data would not have made that
possible. Instead, REI relied mostly on national-level
external evaluation of projects to provide data necessary
to document its achievements. Though some data was collected
centrally, the final report draws primarily from these
national-level external evaluations, thus combining a
cluster evaluation and multisite evaluation approach.
Full
final report
Executive
summary
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National
Level External Evaluations (2005)
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| REI
Midterm Report - December 2004 |
The
development of a "tool kit" for monitoring
and evaluation grew out of the need to support teams
developing REI proposals to design their monitoring
and evaluation plans that are required for support of
REI proposals.
The
tool kit is available on-line and includes:
- a framework for evaluation, including key questions
and a format for designing monitoring schemes and evaluation
plans
- supporting materials, including "things to remember,"
practical and ethical guidelines for data collection,
tips regarding certain data collection methods, sample
data collection instruments and protocols, analytical
frameworks, and suggestions for reporting.
In
addition to the "tool kit", other examples
of evaluations and research that have been conducted
in the Soros Network are available, including:
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Concepts and evaluation briefs
- Final written evaluations
- Examples of instruments, including tests that have
been developed
- Research projects support by OSI.
Experts
in evaluation who are working on REI projects, and others
who have participated and trained through a Columbia
University course, and who have experience working on
minority issues, and doing evaluations regarding the
education of Roma children.
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The
Roma Education Research Project
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The Soros Foundation Network has made a commitment to
devote greater attention to improving educational programming
for Roma children in Eastern and Central Europe. As a
foundation for this effort, the Education Sub-Board (ESB)
of the Open Society Institute (OSI) commissioned a focused
research project in September 2000 to examine and learn
from existing educational programs, serving Roma children.
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OSI-NY
Step by Step Special Schools Initiative
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This project is based on the conviction that Roma
children are mislabeled "mentally handicapped" and misplaced
in special education. Our hypothesis was that, given appropriate
conditions for learning, the majority of Roma children
are capable of academic achievement to the level of mainstream
curriculum standards. Proactive Information Services Inc.,
an education evaluation company, whose clients include
ministries of education throughout Canada, was contracted
to provide an independent test of the project's hypothesis
and to lead a team of national researchers. Distinguished
researchers from each country collected and analyzed additional
data required by their national ministries of education.
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Costs
and Effects of the Step By Step Roma Special Schools
Initiative
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OSI-NY Step By Step Roma Special Schools Initiative
- Final
Report - February
2003
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OSI-NY Step By Step Roma Special Schools Initiative - Final
Report Summary |
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OSI-NY Step By Step Roma Special Schools Initiative -
Final
Report - February
2004
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| Foundation
supported evaluations focused on equity and/or the education
of Roma |
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The
Education Support Program's (ESP) main goal in evaluation
is to improve their usefulness. This goal is important
in relation to both the final evaluation document
and the evaluation research process. Evaluations
have a utility value in three general areas: project
and program development, informing decision-making
processes, and the exploration of policy implications
and recommendations.
To support this goal, ESP strengthens
skills and expertise in evaluation research through
a joint masters-level course with Columbia University;
promotes evaluation framework design as a component
of strategies for educational change, and provides
support in evaluation planning and management.
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Roma
Schools in Bulgaria
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The
Open Society Fund Sofia has supported a monitoring project
in Bulgaria which has extensively documented the number
and location of "Roma Schools" in Bulgaria.
2001-
2002 Project Results in Bulgarian and English
2002-
2003 Project Results in Bulgarian and the annex
to it.
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| Denied
a Future? |
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The
Right to Education of Roma/Gypsy & Traveller Children
in Europe - A Report by Save the Children
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Research
and Evaluation Frameworks and Tools
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Evaluation
Support Environment for REI projects
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