● Researchers should determine more rigorously which
mediating factors have the greatest impact on behavior in
different cultures and which educational strategies and
activities are most effective at changing these factors
both across and within cultures. More generally, studies
should try to assess which of the 17 characteristics are
most important and what kinds of adaptations can be
safely made without jeopardizing effectiveness.
● Researchers should always try to publish negative
results, provided that the studies are well done, so that
the literature does not become biased.
● Published results of evaluations should provide more
complete descriptions of their programs so that reviews
can better assess their characteristics and understand
why some programs were effective and other
were not.
● Formal meta-analyses of all of these studies should be
conducted so that they can overcome some of the
limitations of the individual studies (e.g., insufficient
statistical power).
If these recommendations are implemented, the success of
these programs and our knowledge of these programs will
continue to progress, as they have for the last 25 years.