Full Description
This unique book features original writings from evaluation's foundational thinkers, together with new commentaries from contemporary authors. Each section includes an introduction to a core evaluation concept by the editors, a classic reading, two commentaries on that topic by contemporary authors, and a reflection guide written by the editors.
Contents
Introduction - Lori A. Wingate, Ayesha S. Boyce, Lyssa Wilson Becho, and Kelly N. Robertson
Intended Audience
The Core Concepts
The Classic Pieces
Diverse Voices in Evaluation
Shining a Light on One Early Black Evaluation Scholar: Leander Boykin's Commentary on the Nature of Evaluation
Structure of the Book
Positionality Statements
Introduction Classic Piece: Let's Eliminate the Confusion: What is Evaluation? - Leander L. Boykin
What Evaluation Is Not
What Evaluation Is and Should Be
Part I. Evaluation is a distinct form of inquiry that is oriented to reaching judgments of merit, worth, or significance.
Part I Introduction - Lyssa Wilson Becho
Valuing as a Core Evaluation Concept
The Classic Writing on Valuing
Evolution of Valuing in Evaluation
This Book's Contemporary Commentary on the Core Concept
End Notes
Part I Classic Piece: The Nature of Evaluation - Michael Scriven
Overview
The Nature of Evaluation
The Paradoxical Status of Evaluation
From Practice to Methodology to Discipline
The Country of the Mind
Criteria for a New Discipline
The Emerging Discipline of Evaluation
Midcourse Review
The Key Problem: The Validation of Evaluations
The Scope of Evaluation
Final Review
The State of Current Practice in Program Evaluation
Why Does All This Matter?
End Notes
Chapter 1: Amending the Architectural Blueprints for Evaluation - Bianca Montrosse-Moorhead and Khalil Bitar
Scriven's Definition and Its Enduring Impact on Evaluation Scholarship and Practice
Our Argument for Amending the Definition of Evaluation to Include Ethics
The Practical-Moral Obligations of the Evaluation Discipline
Renovating the Evaluation Building
An Amended Definition of Evaluation
Implications of the Amended Definition of Evaluation
Conclusion
Chapter 2: Lack of Discipline: Answering Scriven's Call for Value in (Program) Evaluation - Ghislain Arbour
Introduction
Scriven's Call for Evaluation: About Value, Through Transdiscipline
Call Unanswered: The Case of Program Evaluation
Returning the Call: Program Evaluation as a Discipline
Conclusion: Toward (Common) Transdisciplinarity After All
Part I Reflection Guide - Lyssa Wilson Becho
Check Your Understanding
Consider Your Own Work
Extend Your Learning
Part II. Engagement enhances the usefulness and relevance of evaluation.
Part II Introduction - Kelly N. Robertson
Engagement as a Core Evaluation Concept
The Classic Writing on Evaluation Engagement
Evolution of Evaluation Engagement
This Book's Contemporary Commentary on the Core Concept
End Note
Part II Classic Piece: The Stakeholder Approach to Evaluation: Origins and Promise - Carol Weiss
Critiques Point the Way to Something New
Early Reform Attempts
Development of the Stakeholder Model
Some Unresolved Issues
Promise of the Stakeholder Approach
The Stakeholder Approach in Action
Chapter 3: Evaluation Engagement: Historical Perspectives and New Directions With Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) Principles - Tatiana E. Bustos, Oyesola Oluwafunmilayo Ayeni, and Jessica S. Saucedo
Persistent Evaluation Challenges
Community-Based Participatory Action Research (CBPR) Principles
Conclusion
Chapter 4: I.M.P.A.C.T.: A Manumission Mindset and Other Engagement Approaches for Evaluation - Sharon Attipoe-Dorcoo and Norma Martínez-Rubin
Introduction
Weiss's Classic Writing and Its Relation to Evaluation as an Engagement Approach
Evolution of Engagement in Evaluation Practice
The IMPACT Framework and Engagement
IMPACT Framework Components and How to Apply Them to Community Engagement
Future of Evaluation Engagement for Manumitted Communities
Part II Reflection Guide - Kelly N. Robertson
Check Your Understanding
Consider Your Own Work
Extend Your Learning
Part III. Evaluation is inherently political.
Part III Introduction - Lori A. Wingate
Politics as a Core Evaluation Concept
The Classic Writing on the Inherently Political Nature of Evaluation
Evolution of the Framing of Politics in Evaluation
This Book's Contemporary Commentary on Politics and Evaluation
Part III Classic Piece: What Have We Learned About the Politics of Program Evaluation? - Eleanor Chelimsky
Part 1: The Development of the Policy Question
Part 2: The Translation of the Policy Question Into an Evaluation Question
Part 3: The Translation of the Evaluation Question Into the Evaluation Proper
Part 4: The Translation of the Evaluation Findings Into Policy Answers That Respond to the Original Policy Question
Part 5: Use of the Evaluation Findings and the Generation of New Policy Questions
What Have We Learned?
Chapter 5: The Power and Politics of Knowledge Production in Program Evaluation: Funder, Methodological, and Pedagogical Colonialism - Jennifer Billman and Bagele Chilisia
Introduction
Situating the Problem
A Path Forward: Decolonization Through Program Evaluation
Concluding Remarks
Chapter 6: Walking the Tightrope Between Independence and Responsiveness: Falling Off Is Not an Option - Rakesh Mohan
Evaluations Are Inherently Political
Chelimsky's Five-Step Framework, Plus One, Is Needed to Manage Evaluation Politics
What Do People Familiar With the Policy Process and Evaluation Say About Evaluation Use and Politics?
Worthful Endeavor
Part III Reflection Guide - Lori A. Wingate
Check Your Understanding
Consider Your Own Work
Extend Your Learning
Part IV. Culturally responsive evaluation practice can lead to a more just society.
Part IV Introduction - Ayesha S. Boyce
Cultural Responsiveness and Justice as Core Evaluation Concepts
The Classic Writing on Cultural Responsiveness
Evolution of the Framing of Culture in Evaluation
This Book's Contemporary Commentary on the Core Concept
Part IV Classic Piece: Responsive Evaluation Amistad Style: Perspectives of One African American Evaluator - Stafford Hood
End Notes
Chapter 7: En Busca de las Voces Latinas in CRE: Reflections From a Program Evaluation Latina - Grettel Arias Orozco
Introduction
Rethinking the Language and Terminologies
Complexity and Diversity of Latino/a/e/x Cultures
Promoting Awareness and Representation of Latino/a/e/x Evaluators
Chapter 8: Black Methodologies for Black Evaluators - Deja Taylor, Sojourner White, Superior Murphy, Radaya Ellis, and monique liston
Evaluator Connection to Hood
Intro to Positionality
Culturally Responsive Evaluation (CRE)
Equitable Evaluation Framework (EEF)
Afrofuturist Evaluation (AFE)
Conclusion
Part IV Reflection Guide - Ayesha S. Boyce
Check Your Understanding
Consider Your Own Work
Extend Your Learning
Part V. Evaluation's value is realized through its use and influence.
Part V Introduction - Ayesha S. Boyce
Use as a Core Evaluation Concept
The Classic Writing on Use
Evolution of the Framing of Use in Evaluation
Part V Classic Piece: Utilization-Focused Evaluation - Michael Quinn Patton
This Book's Contemporary Commentary on the Core Concept
Utilization-Focused Evaluation
Chapter 9: Aims, Aspirations, and Consequences: Problematization at the Intersection of Culture and Evaluation Use - Jeremy Acree and Jill Chouinard
Utilization in Practice: An Empirical Perspective
Institutional Ethnography and Problematics
Intersections of Use and Culture
Looking Forward
Chapter 10: Beyond the Project: Using Evaluation to Reimagine the Future in Africa - Caitlin A. Blaser Mapitsa and Mine Pabari
Use and a Changing World
Evolutions in Use
Evaluation and Use in Africa
Shifting From Useful to Transformative
Conclusion
Part V Reflection Guide - Ayesha S. Boyce
Check Your Understanding
Consider Your Own Work
Extend Your Learning
Part VI. Evaluation is a reflexive practice: Evaluation can and should be evaluated.
Part VI Introduction - Lori A. Wingate
Metaevaluation as a Core Evaluation Concept
The Classic Writing on Metaevaluation
Evolution of the Concept and Practice of Metaevaluation
This Book's Contemporary Commentary on the Core Concept
Part VI Classic Piece: Metaevaluation - Daniel L. Stufflebeam
Background and Problems
A Conceptualization of Metaevaluation
Summary
Chapter 11: Revisiting Metaevaluation Through the Perspectives of the Global South - Paidamoyo Chikate, Satlaj Dighe, Padma Kannan, and John M. LaVelle
Metaevaluation's Origin and Development
Sociopolitical Contexts of the Global South
Reimagining Metaevaluation in the Global South
Summation
Chapter 12: A New Story for Metaevaluation - Tiffany Tovey and Libby Smith
What Is Metaevaluation?
What Is Reflective Practice?
Reflective Practice and Reflexivity in Evaluation
Old Story-New Story
Reconceptualizing Metaevaluation for the New Story
Conclusion and Call to Action
Part VI Reflection Guide - Lori A. Wingate
Check Your Understanding
Consider Your Own Work
Extend Your Learning
References
Author Index
Subject Index
