Measuring the Impact of Continuing Education

AbstractAlthough growing in scope and importance, social work continuing education seldom undergoes rigorous evaluation. Enumerating workshop attendance and relying on inadequate evaluative procedures suffice for documenting teaching effectiveness. This paper describes a promising approach for empirically determining workshop impact. When tested in two workshops, the approach yielded unambiguous findings on participants' conceptual knowledge, ability to recall and recognize practice skills, and satisfaction with instructional quality and relevance. Benefits of increased accountability and data-based feedback warrant use of the evaluative approach by others. Additional informationNotes on contributorsSteven Paul SchinkeSTEVEN PAUL SCHINKE is an associate professor and THOMAS E. SMITH is a doctoral candidate, both at the School of Social Work, University of Washington. Lewayne D. Gilchrist is an instructor of psychology at Antioch University, Seattle, and STEPHEN E. WONG is a research associate at the Clinical Research Center, Camarillo State Hospital, Camarillo, California.Thomas E. SmithSTEVEN PAUL SCHINKE is an associate professor and THOMAS E. SMITH is a doctoral candidate, both at the School of Social Work, University of Washington. Lewayne D. Gilchrist is an instructor of psychology at Antioch University, Seattle, and STEPHEN E. WONG is a research associate at the Clinical Research Center, Camarillo State Hospital, Camarillo, California.Lewayne D. GilchristSTEVEN PAUL SCHINKE is an associate professor and THOMAS E. SMITH is a doctoral candidate, both at the School of Social Work, University of Washington. Lewayne D. Gilchrist is an instructor of psychology at Antioch University, Seattle, and STEPHEN E. WONG is a research associate at the Clinical Research Center, Camarillo State Hospital, Camarillo, California.Stephen E. WongSTEVEN PAUL SCHINKE is an associate professor and THOMAS E. SMITH is a doctoral candidate, both at the School of Social Work, University of Washington. Lewayne D. Gilchrist is an instructor of psychology at Antioch University, Seattle, and STEPHEN E. WONG is a research associate at the Clinical Research Center, Camarillo State Hospital, Camarillo, California.