The use of a Participatory Multimethod Approach in Evaluating a Distance Education Programme in Two Developing Countries Co-authors: Gordon Naidoo

and Charles Potter, PhD 22nd Annual Conference of the American Evaluation Association in Denver, Colorado 5 - 8 November 2008 This paper describes a participatory multimethod evaluation design currently beingimplemented in the evaluation of an interactive radio learning programme in two developing countries. The programme provides direct support to schools as well as in-service training of teachers based on open learning principles. It has been implemented since 1992 across all nine provinces of South Africa, and has attracted large-scale funding from the international community to support educational reconstruction over a nine year period in schools in Bangladesh. The methodologies for formative evaluation of the programme in South Africa are at this stage well-established. Existing achievement tests standardized for use in South Africa are thus being adapted for use in Bangladesh schools. Classroom observation instruments based on PhotoVoice methodology as used in South African schools are also being implemented for developmental purposes in the in-service training and support of teachers in Bangladesh, as well as for school-based performance monitoring