ENVIRONMENTAL APPROACH USED FOR EVALUATING AN EDUCATIONAL INNOVATION: AN ARTICLE CRITIQUE
This research critiques the article "Environmental Approach Used for Evaluating an Educational Innovation" (Raviv, Raviv, and Reisel, 1993, pp. 317 324). The article is critiqued within the contexts of (1) justification, (2) definitions, (3) prior research, (4) hypothesis, (5) sampling, (6) instrumentation, (7) data reporting and analysis, (8) results, (9) objectivity, (10) limitations, and (11) overall assessment.
Justification for the research reported in the article is critiqued in the contexts of the strength of the authors' arguments for conducting the research, and the generalizability of the procedure applied in the research reported in the article. The research reported in the article assessed the usefulness of a process for the evaluation of an educational innovation. The innovation in point was the operation of a high school in accordance with a philosophy that emphasizes individualized education and the quality of student teacher relationships (Raviv, Raviv, and Reisel, 1993, p. 318). The research reported in the article evaluated the success of this innovation through the measurement and comparison of classroom learning environments in a high school operated in accordance with conventional educational philosophy in which instrumental goals and academic achievement are emphasized with those in a high school operated in accordance with an individualized educational philosophy as described above. The success of the innovation was determined on
the basis that students perceived greater teacher support, involvement, and innovation in the innovative high school that in the conventional high school.
For an innovative classroom learning environment to be worthwhile, however, such an environment would need to produce superior learning outcomes to those attained in a more conventional environment. The researchers did not meas...