Purpose -This article seeks to review the current state of workplace learning evaluation, to set out the rationale for evaluation along with the barriers that practitioners face when seeking to assess the effectiveness of training and development. Finally, it aims to propose a scientifically robust and practitioner friendly approach to evaluation. Design/methodology/approach -This article is based on a multi disciplinary literature review. Findings -Despite the substantial investment in workplace learning there is a paucity of evaluation activity. There are a wide range of reasons for this including capacity and capability issues, lack of supportive organisational environment and a lack of effective measurement instruments. There is also a large research to practice gap. The starting point for evaluation approaches should be the needs of practitioners. Latest research on training suggests that effective evaluation approaches should adopt a stakeholder and systems approach and collect corroborative data. Research limitations/implications -This article presents research findings, based on a multidisciplinary literature review, on the factors that inhibit effective workplace learning evaluation, sets out a novel evaluation framework and approach, grounded in a conceptual model of workplace learning. Practical implications -The findings seek to assist practitioners such as learning and development professionals undertake more robust and efficient evaluations. The article also addresses the research to practice gap. Originality/value -This article presents a novel approach to workplace learning evaluation.

PurposeThis paper aims to briefly review the current state of and rationale for workplace training evaluation, explain the barriers that prevent wide scale and effective evaluation and provide practitioners with a novel training evaluation approach.Design/methodology/approachThe article is based on a critical review of current approaches to and literature on training evaluation and the author's own research into the impact of learning on NHS productivity.FindingsWhilst national governments stress the importance of workplace skills development as a central element of economic growth and organizations invest substantial amounts in training, very few private firms or public sector organizations actually review learning's impact on individuals, teams or organizational results.Practical implicationsThis paper proposes that a range of factors inhibit effective training evaluation. These include the complexity of workplace learning and, crucially, weaknesses in current evaluation processes and tools. In response, the author sets out a novel systematic evaluation process aimed at assisting practitioners in meeting these challenges.Originality/valueThe approach builds on the economic theory of productivity to create a metric of costs and benefits to allow organizations to assess the impact of learning. It is hoped the approach will firstly, contribute to the debate about how training should be evaluated; secondly, bridge the gap between academic research and practitioner needs and finally, provide a scientifically robust but practitioner friendly means of evaluation.

Purpose -This paper seeks to argue that workplace learning evaluation theory and practice is still an emergent field and that this creates a number of challenges for practitioners and researchers alike. Design/methodology/approach -This is a descriptive paper based on a critical review of existing approaches and the research literature. Findings -While programme evaluation has a long history, workplace learning evaluation is yet to establish itself as a distinct field. This has a number of consequences including the lack of a single or settled view on how workplace learning should be evaluated or what specific aspects of learning should be investigated. Practical implications -The need to demonstrate a return on investment in organisational learning is as pressing as ever. To become more effective training evaluation methods need to be grounded in a theory. This article aims to provide an informed perspective on the current state of workplace evaluation along with insights into how evaluation can be placed on firmer theoretical foundations in order to produce robust findings in a practitioner friendly way. Originality/value -This paper provides original insights into the development of workplace evaluation approaches and the challenges the field faces.

Objectives: To develop and validate a new allergy-specific Patient-Reported Experience Measure (PREM) for children and their parents, and to collect feedback in an integrated care setting.Design: Two allergy-specific PREMs were produced using focus-groups, cognitive testing, two prospective validation-studies (collaboration: Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, Picker Institute Europe, Imperial College/London): "Your Allergy Care", for children age 8-16 years; "Your Child's Allergy Care", for parents of children aged 0-7 years.Setting: Community event, primary/secondary/tertiary allergy care-settings. Main outcome measures:Performance of PREMs in validation-study; reported experience of allergy care. Participants: 687 children with allergic conditions and their parents/carersResults: In total 687 questionnaires were completed; 503/687 (253 child; 250 parent) for the final survey. In both surveys demographic variations were not associated with differences in results.Although 71% reported ≥1 allergic condition (food allergy/eczema/hayfever/asthma), 62% of patients required multiple visits before receiving final diagnosis. Overall, patient experience was good for communication with patient/parent, competence, confidence in ability and 73% felt looked after "very well", 23% "quite well". Areas for improvement included communication with nurseries/schools, more information on side-effects, allergic conditions, allergen/irritant-avoidance. Allergy care in primary/emergency caresettings was associated with higher problem-scores (worse experience) than in specialist clinics. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 Allergic conditions affect up to a third of children in the United Kingdom at some point during childhood making them the most common chronic childhood ailment(1). Many children suffer from multiple allergic co-morbidities, such as eczema, asthma, food allergies and hayfever. Access to specialist allergy care is difficult due to under-provision of services, as outlined in successive national reports(2-5). Once accessed, there is evidence of considerable variability in the quality of allergy care, which is likely to negatively impact on clinical outcomes, patients' experiences and safety(6, 7).In response, the Department of Health commissioned the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) to define care-pathways for children with allergic conditions, including the development of allergy-specific Patient Reported Experience Measures (PREMs)(8).PREMs allow patients to report on their experience of care rather than health outcomes (Patient Reported Outcome Measures, PROMs, e.g. ...

PurposeLaw enforcement officers enter police service usually sometime after their 21st birthday. They often remain in police service until they turn 65. To maintain their professional skills and re‐certify their licenses as law enforcement officers, they must complete in‐service training hours. The purpose of this study is to estimate the current number of law enforcement officers over 40 years old and to explore possible andragogical solutions to existing in‐service training methodologies.Design/methodology/approachThe Police Officer Standard and Training (POST) organizations were contacted in all 50 States in a telephone survey.FindingsPolice training requirements vary widely between States. There are a large number of older law enforcement officers that require in‐service training. This population might be better served using andragogical training techniques.Research limitations/implicationsAlthough this was a nationwide study, there were certain limitations that must be considered. Only State, county, and municipal law enforcement officers were included in this study. No federal law enforcement officers or agencies were included in this study.Originality/valueThe findings show the extent and amount of in‐service training that law enforcement agencies are required to provide their employees and will be of interest to those in that field.