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The Handbook for Evaluating HIV Education - Booklet 3 Appraising
an HIV Curriculum
Guideline 3: Attention should be given to the degree to which the
HIV curriculum has been implemented as planned.
In many instances a first-rate curriculum may have been created, yet
when actually implemented, it appears ineffectual. The curriculum that
takes place in the classroom, in such cases, is frequently a far cry from
what had been contemplated by its architects. The HIV curriculum that has
been planned may not be the HIV curriculum that is delivered in the
classroom. Thus, this third guideline suggests that serious attention must
be given to the fidelity of curricular implementation. Careful efforts
should be devoted to the determination of how well the curriculum was
actually implemented.
Although it is possible to implement this guideline in informal ways,
such as by an evaluator's occasionally visiting classrooms or speaking
with teachers, there is much to be said for approaching the curricular
implementation task more systematically.
A survey is provided to illustrate how someone
might poll teachers to see if their implementation of an adopted
curriculum was suitable. Because the illustrative survey is tied to a
specific, albeit fictional, HIV curriculum, it would be necessary to
particularize any such survey so that it deals with the curriculum
involved.
Although planned curricula are never implemented perfectly, a judgment
must be made about whether the curriculum was implemented with reasonable
fidelity. Surveys such as the one included at the end of this booklet and
unannounced observations of teachers' actual classroom instruction can be
helpful in making such a judgment.
In too many instances it is determined that an educational program has
been unsuccessful, yet the cause of that failure is unclear. Is it a
deficiency in the curriculum itself or a deficiency in the way that the
curriculum was implemented? If this guideline is followed, it will be
possible to answer that question accurately. Back
to Booklet 3 Table of Contents
Back
to Handbook for Evaluating HIV Education - Introduction |
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