Browsing by Subject "Participatory Evaluation"

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    Evaluation Capacity Building Towards Developing a Special Education System in a Large Midwestern School District
    (2016-06) Sterner Sampers, Camille
    Abstract This study researched the continued practice of evaluation capacity building (ECB) in an educational context, specifically the special education department of a large Midwestern school district. This descriptive and exploratory study studied the activities, processes, and outcomes of ECB that followed King’s case study (2002) fifteen years later. The Two-County School District was very large (e.g., geography, number of schools, student enrollment) and, as a result, had extensive resources for ECB, which included access to evaluation experts and data tools for sophisticated data use. The breadth and depth of the resources in this large school district put them in a positive place, where the Director of Special Education and other special education evaluation champions did the work of ECB, using the expanded and modified program evaluation model and process that Campbell initiated in 1999 to 2001. Galles, the district’s evaluation leader since 2007, contributed to ECB as the district’s highly skilled evaluation leader. Her evaluation leadership and expertise as well as the technical assistance from the Department of Research, Evaluation, and Assessment positively supported the special education department’s ECB projects. Taylor, the Director of Special Education (2009 – 2013), and several special education evaluation champions demonstrated a strong ECB vision and commitment to achieve change and improve the quality of special education programs. An evaluation leader, committed evaluation champions at multiple levels, dedicated resources, and clear communication are critical to lead and sustain ECB efforts.
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    An exploration of the factors that influence participant selection in participatory evaluation.
    (2009-07) Nelson, Randi Kay
    Although interest in participatory evaluation continues to grow, most of the literature about it focuses on outcomes of participatory evaluations and facilitating stakeholder participation. A gap exists in our knowledge about participatory evaluation methodology, specifically in how and why people are selected to co-evaluate programs. This study examines participant selection in participatory evaluation, which for the purposes of the study includes pragmatic, utilization, empowerment, and transformative forms of evaluation. The study's findings, based on individual interviews with 16 practicing evaluators in the United States and Canada, indicate that the rationale for stakeholder participation and program context influenced stakeholder selection. Stakeholder selection was motivated by multiple, rather than single rationales for participatory evaluation. Cases with pragmatic rationales, including improved data or evaluation processes and increased evaluation utilization, were more likely to restrict stakeholder selection to program staff, managers, evaluation clients, and program funders. Cases with values-based rationales, which included empowerment or transformative goals, were more likely to include program beneficiaries and community members on evaluation teams. In spite of these general patterns, variability in evaluation team composition among cases with identical rationales indicates that program context also influenced stakeholder relevance. Nine context factors were found to influence stakeholder selection in this study. They are: 1) the evaluator's values, experience, and substantive knowledge; 2) characteristics of program stakeholders; 3) public perception of program effectiveness; 4) social and professional networks; 5) program characteristics including the number and location of program sites; 6) program type; 7) program goals; 8) program culture or climate; and 9) time and financial resources available for the evaluation. Stakeholders play an essential role in participatory evaluation since individuals who participate in the evaluation influence all evaluation activities and outcomes. The study was conducted in the hope that evaluation practitioners and the evaluation research community will benefit from this examination of the participant selection practices in diverse settings.