title: Curriculum evaluation and revision in a nascent field: the utility of the retrospective pretest--posttest model in a homeland security program of study.
abstract: Although most academic disciplines evolve at a measured pace, the emerging field of homeland security must, for reasons of safety and security, evolve rapidly. The Department of Homeland Security sponsored the establishment of a graduate educational program for key officials holding homeland security roles. Because homeland security is a nascent field, the establishment of a program curriculum was forced to draw from a variety of disciplines. Curriculum evaluation was complicated by the rapid changes occurring in the emerging discipline, producing response shift bias, and interfering with the pre-post assessments. To compensate for the validity threat associated with response shift bias, a retrospective pretest-posttest evaluative methodology was used. Data indicate the program has evolved in a significant and orderly fashion and these data support the use of this innovative evaluation approach in the development of any discipline.
authors.affiliation: Stanford University and the Naval Postgraduate School, CA, USA. pelfrey@uwm.edu
authors.forename: William V
authors.initials: WV
authors.lastname: Pelfrey
authors.forename: William V
authors.initials: WV
authors.lastname: Pelfrey
mesh_terms: D003479:Curriculum; D006801:Humans; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D015397:Program Evaluation; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012637:Security Measures; D014481:United States