Thomas Schwandt

Evaluation Foundations Revisited

Cultivating a Life of the Mind for Practice

• Broschiertes Buch

Produktbeschreibung

Thomas A. Schwandt is Professor of Education at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. A Fellow of the American Educational Research Association, in 2002, he received the Paul F. Lazarsfeld Award from the American Evaluation Association for his contributions to evaluation theory. He is the author of Evaluation Practice Reconsidered and the Dictionary of Qualitative Inquiry. Schwandt is Editor Emeritus of the American Journal of Evaluation.

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Produktdetails

• Verlag: Stanford University Press
• Seitenzahl: 215
• Erscheinungstermin: 17. Juni 2015
• Englisch
• Abmessung: 228mm x 151mm x 20mm
• Gewicht: 334g
• ISBN-13: 9780804786553
• ISBN-10: 0804786550
• Artikelnr.: 41753701

Autorenporträt

Thomas A. Schwandt is Professor of Education at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. A Fellow of the American Educational Research Association, in 2002, he received the Paul F. Lazarsfeld Award from the American Evaluation Association for his contributions to evaluation theory. He is the author of Evaluation Practice Reconsidered and the Dictionary of Qualitative Inquiry. Schwandt is Editor Emeritus of the American Journal of Evaluation.

Inhaltsangabe

Contents and Abstracts
1Variability in Evaluation Practice
chapter abstract
This chapter introduces the idea of variability in professional evaluation
practice. It provides an overview of four primary sources of variation: how
evaluation is defined, what methods an evaluator ought to employ, how the
professional evaluator relates to and interacts with parties to an
evaluation, and how the purpose of the practice is understood. It concludes
by suggesting that methodological and theoretical pluralism in evaluation
requires more careful investigation.
2Evaluation Theory and Practice
chapter abstract
This chapter argues that notions of "applying" theory to practice are
mistaken and explains how theoretical knowledge (as a body of knowledge
composed of concepts, principles, insights, etc.) serves as resource for
practical decision making. It discusses several bodies of knowledge and
their relevance for evaluation practice including evaluation theory,
program theory, theory of use, causal theory, political theory, and theory
of change.
3Values and Valuing
chapter abstract
This chapter begins with a short introduction to the difference between
objectivist and subjectivist approaches to valuing. That is followed by a
discussion of several issues involved in viewing evaluation as a
judgment-oriented practice, grasping the relationship between values and
criteria, using criteria as the basis for evaluative judgment, judging
value when using multiple criteria, and determining the evaluator's role in
making judgments.
4Reasoning, Evidence, and Argument
chapter abstract
The chapter first discusses judgment making in evaluation as a process of
critical thinking that is guided by principles of scientific reasoning,
method and evidence as well as ethical principles. It then turns to a
discussion of evidence-its definition, sources, and properties-which forms
the basis of judgments of value. That is followed by an examination of
three salient issues surrounding the use of evidence in evaluation: (1) the
controversy surrounding evidence-based policy and practice, (2) debates
about establishing evidence of the causal effect of programs and policies,
and (3) ensuring the use of adequate measures (i.e., sources of evidence)
for determining program processes and outcomes. The chapter concludes with
a discussion of key considerations involved in making evaluative arguments.
5Politics and Policymaking
chapter abstract
This chapter examines several distinct, but interrelated, ways of
understanding the political character of evaluation. The discussion is
organized from micro to macro-level considerations beginning with an
"interior" look at politics in the conduct of evaluation planning and
execution, then to assumptions evaluators hold about the politics of
policymaking or the "politics of interaction," from there to considering
evaluation as a means of governance, and finally to exploring the political
point of view of evaluation itself.
6Use
chapter abstract
This chapter draws on the considerable literature in both knowledge
utilization and use of evaluation to identify prominent issues surrounding
how use might be defined, the factors and circumstances that affect use,
and the way in which different evaluation approaches position the idea of
use in practice. The chapter concludes by arguing that the explanatory
value of much the literature on use is meager although we can make several
empirical generalizations about the phenomenon of knowledge use.
7Professionalism and Professionalization
chapter abstract
Evaluation practitioners face two important, interrelated issues. The first
is what the trend toward professionalization of evaluation means for the
practice in a global or international perspective. The second is what
characterizes professionalism or professional conduct in evaluation. This
chapter engages these two issues by first examining efforts aimed at
developing competencies for what comprises a "good evaluator" and what
might be involved in providing evidence that one who self identifies as an
evaluator possesses them. It then examines criteria for determining what
counts as a "good evaluation" and what it might mean for evaluation as a
profession to offer some assurance that it engages in processes for quality
assurance. The chapter ends with a discussion of the ethics of professional
conduct.