Radio schools of Latin America

Evaluation covers the period 1/78-12/81 and is based document review and interviews with AID/W, USAID/B, project, and ACPO personnel. Although the field study was completed, its conclusions are of questionable validity due to several methodological flaws: only communities with the full range of ACPO services were sampled, resulting in an overestimation of public exposure to ACPO; some critical questionnaire items did not produce adequate variance in responses and thus failed to discriminate between ACPO users and non-users; and summary indices were not tested for internal consistency or validated. As a result of these flaws, the study"s conclusions may have seriously underestimated ACPO"s impact on important development indicators. The guidelines produced from the study provided no new insights on successful or unsuccessful approaches to non-formal education. Draft training modules for evaluators of nonformal education services were also developed, but the modules do not appear to be based directly on the ACPO studies and are more academic than practical. The project was hindered by the departure of the first field director and the death of the second director. Although planned inputs were delivered on time, technical assistance and project management were of poor quality. The project resulted from an unsolicited proposal. Project experience suggests that it is best to either accept or reject such proposals, rather than to negotiate complicated compromises that leave objectives and accountability unclear. For research projects in general, study design and methodology should be specified and reviewed in advance; small studies investigating specific, clearly defined issues should be preferred to to large studies; and the credentials of contractor research staff should be evaluated by A.I.D. before staff are assigned to the field.