An integrative theory-driven framework for evaluating travel training programs

• An integrative theory-driven framework for evaluating a non-standardized public program (i.e. travel training) was developed.
• Comprehensive examination of travel training programs in the US and internationally.
• A logic model for travel training was created. Inclusion of program outcomes: individual, family, school and community.
• The evaluation framework and the logic model can be used for program evaluation, program improvement, and oversight.

Since the 1970s, travel training programs, which provide a short-term training to people with disabilities and older people to teach them independent travel skills required to use fixed-route transportation, have spread across the United States. But the authors note that currently, there is no integrative framework for evaluating the training programs, although it is crucial for improving program implementation and developing knowledge and theories related to travel training. Therefore, this research aims to build an integrative theory-driven evaluation framework of the programs on the basis of prior studies on travel training and the literature on program evaluation and learning and training theories. The framework considers (1) a wide range of key elements related to the delivery systems and outcomes of travel training; (2) diverse stakeholders that engage in designing, operating, and assessing travel training; and (3) the short-term, intermediate, and long-term outcomes of the programs. Based on the framework, the authors develop a flexible logic model for travel training programs to help scholars and practitioners design and conduct actual evaluation studies. Thus, this research is expected to make theoretical and practical contributions to theory-driven program evaluation and travel training programs.