The Ministry of Education Korea has designated 40 schools as u-learning (ubiquitous-learning) schools since March 2005, to investigate the possible applications of u-learning technology in future classrooms. U-learning technology is expected to allow every student to learn what they want to ‘anytime and anyplace’. The word "ubiquitous" is derived from Latin meaning, "being present everywhere. This means that anyone can use a large capacity communications network anytime, anywhere, on any device and communicate at low cost. In programs, the schools were equipped with ubiquitous infrastructure and supported by u-learning technical experts and administrators. The schools are also being innovative in terms of teaching-learning methods, classroom and extra-curricular activity management on their own. The schools aim to increase academic achievement, to encourage positive learning attitudes and to run the schools more effectively.
The purpose of the study is to develop a comprehensive evaluation model that consider multiple perspectives of stakeholders in the evaluation of educational programs, and to examine the validity of the developed evaluation model by adapting it to u-learning pilot school programs. The new evaluation model was developed into three dimensions: 1) the stakeholder's perspective (S), 2) the phase of program progress (P), and 3) the data collection method (M), and which are called the ‘SPM Model’. To say specific, the stakeholders might be classified into 4 groups – program providers (teachers), program users (students and parents), educational authorities (MOEHRD and local MOE) and professionals concerned To judge a program’s value overall, the viewpoints of multiple stakeholders should be considered exactly and their evaluation concerns analyzed holistically (Eisner, 1998). In addition, to evaluate the program systematically, each evaluation is implemented according to the program life cycle: planning, implementation, outcome In order to investigate the evaluation findings, quantitative and qualitative research methods should be used including document analysis, interview, questionnaires and achievement tests. The findings also should be served as a guide for schools and administrators in making educational improvements.
It is expected that the following benefits will be derived from the utilization of the SPM model for the evaluation of educational programs. Since the model considers diverse values rather than a single value, evaluators can gain a thorough understanding of the evaluation target. Also the SPM model contributes to the triangulation of evaluation by fully reflecting the perspectives of diverse stakeholders, diverse stages of program implementation, and diverse evaluation methods in the evaluation. And the SPM model improves the credibility of the evaluation by involving diverse stakeholders. Each stakeholder is not likely to fully trust the result of the evaluation if they cannot see their own perspective reflected in its contents. And the SPM model has high utility in terms of the utilization of the evaluation results, as the model evaluates the value of the program and presents directions for improvement based on a comprehensive understanding of the evaluation target. Finally, the SPM model is an open evaluation, in which stakeholders can express the values they pursue and fully discuss the evaluation contents and methods.