Do We Develop the Skills We Aim to Develop? Outcome Assessment of Programs Designed to Develop Skills in Children in Pre-School and School Age. Guidelines and Recommendations

The number of programs aiming to develop new skills in pre-school and school-aged children in Bulgaria is quickly increasing. This raises questions around the effectiveness of these programs in developing and training the skills they were designed to improve. In order to empirically address these questions, one has to assess the theoretical framework on which the program is based, to clearly define its expected outcomes, and to use a sound experimental design for the assessment of its outcomes. The present paper introduces practical guidelines and recommendations for the design of programs for pre-school and school-aged children and for the assessment of their effectiveness.