@article{article_1584068, title={Bridging Theory and Practice: Exploring Bellon and Handler’s Curriculum Evaluation Model and its Use in Literature}, journal={Turkish Academic Research Review}, volume={10}, pages={35–53}, year={2025}, DOI={10.30622/tarr.1584068}, author={Aydan, Lütfiye Seda and Saridemir, Hürriyet}, keywords={Müfrefat Değerlendirme, Bellon ve Handler değerlendirme modeli, program değerlendirme, literatür taraması}, abstract={Curriculum evaluation is a crucial process for designing more effective programs and for bettering the already existing ones. Thanks to the findings of the program evaluation studies, researchers and stakeholders of educational institutions can assess if the program serves its aims, whether the instruction is effective, and they can have conclusions drawn on the impacts of the program on the learners. As a result of these findings, the strengths and weaknesses of the program are determined. Bellon and Handler model of curriculum evaluation is a model which provides a theoretical framework for the evaluation of educational programs. The model proposes the use of a variety of sources to collect data for the evaluation and places the learners in the center of the curriculum. Besides, the model recommends the evaluation of the existing sources as well as the needs of the students. What makes this model distinctive from the other models is its involvement of program development as well as program evaluation. Thus, in fact, it has several advantages compared to the other models. However, despite its advantages, the model has been rarely utilized. To provide an understanding of the possible reasons for the limited application of this model, the present study explores the existing body of research and systematically reports the ways in which Bellon and Handler’s Evaluation Model has been employed in curriculum evaluation studies over time. Therefore, the present study presents an exploratory literature review analyzing the curriculum evaluation studies conducted with Bellon and Handler’s Evaluation Model since 1982, the year the model was published. These studies consisted of four master’s theses, four Ph.D. theses, and three research articles. The findings of the study indicate that studies conducted with the help of this model usually deal with English language teaching programs. They were mostly carried out in the context of Turkey. They make use of both quantitative and qualitative data from both students and teachers. The majority of the studies are case studies. Questionnaires, interviews, classroom observations, exam documents are the most employed data collection methods. The qualitative data collected by the researchers were analyzed via document analysis while the quantitative data were analyzed by obtaining descriptive statistics. Some common problems reported as a result of the evaluation were the lack of interactive teaching materials and inefficient assessment tools which do not align with the objectives of the class content. Since the model deals with program development as well as program evaluation, all the studies which were carried out within this theoretical framework offer solutions to improve the programs. Some of these solutions are revisiting the course materials and preparation of course materials appealing to the interests of the learner profiles. Additionally, as mentioned earlier, this research explores the potential factors contributing to the infrequent utilization of the model in comparison to other evaluation frameworks by elucidating its distinct characteristics. The model prioritizes enhancement over assessment, and this makes it diverge from other models aiming to fulfill stakeholders’ informational requirements. Because program evaluation is frequently initiated by the stakeholders of educational institutions, the models prioritizing the informational needs of the stakeholders are preferred over this model which prioritizes improving the curricula. Another factor contributing the infrequent use of this model is the lack of guiding studies in the literature using this model to evaluate educational programs other than English language teaching. Based on the findings of this investigation, it is recommended to conduct further evaluations employing this model across diverse disciplines beyond English language teaching. This approach would facilitate an exploration of the model’s applicability in various fields of study and yield a comprehensive understanding of its utility. Finally, the results of the study showed that the majority of the publications were sampled in the context of Turkey. For this reason, carrying out studies in a range of contexts can contribute to literature by shedding light into the use of the model in diverse contexts.}, number={1}, publisher={Mehmet ŞAHİN}