An investigation of outcomes assessment utilization in the context of teacher education program accreditation

Scholarship on the uses of program evaluation in general is extensive, but little specific empirical research has addressed the uses made of teacher program reviews. The purpose of this study was to investigate empirically the factors affecting uses of teacher program review processes and findings in each of four cases, selected from a prior state-wide population survey to include both higher and lower use exemplars. Results indicated that uses of program reviews included both process uses and findings uses and that a number of personal, contextual and other factors influenced the types of use, the recognition of uses that actually occurred, and the amount of use. Sometimes internal formative improvements were reported as taking place and were recognized as benefits but not identified originally as uses of the review processes and findings. This discrepancy occurred because the program staff and higher education administrators focused primarily on accreditation and viewed the successful accreditation outcome as the only use of the review, even when significant program improvements had resulted from the process. Relying primarily on interviews and documentation, the study described in detail three types of process use and three types of findings use. Process use was the most often reported types of use. Human, contextual and procedural factors were important influences on all types of use. Human factors influenced how the review was conducted and used. Context factors determined how the review was completed and how use occurred, either for accreditation or accreditation and program improvement. Procedural factors affected stakeholder involvement and how the administration related to and valued the program review processes and findings.