An Evidence-based Adult Education Program Model Appropriate for Research. NCSALL Occasional Paper

This monograph describes program models as having a program quality support component and three chronological program components: entrance into a program, participation in a program, and re-engagement in learning. The four components that make up a program model are defined by principles. A principle describes a guiding assumption about how to design the program quality support component and three program components in ways that are sufficient for research. These principles are derived from empirical evidence and professional wisdom, and defined through a process that balances the advice from empirical evidence and professional wisdom with the constraints inherent in the field of adult education. This paper proposes a set of principles that describe programs in which researchers can conduct studies that compare different approaches to instructional and support services. Though this program model is based on the best available professional wisdom and empirical evidence, it is untested. This model should be tested to assess its impact on participation--in terms of gains in skills and knowledge--in programs that conform to it. Once the model has been tested, further research could evaluate the relative merits of different approaches to instruction and support, or evaluate different definitions of each principle. (Contains 2 tables.)