Teaching of Evaluation
Tamara M Walser, PhD
Professor
UNC Wilmington
Wilmington, North Carolina, United States
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Michael S Trevisan, n/a
Dean & Professor
Washington State University
Pullman, Washington, United States
Location: Room 203
Abstract Information: The purpose of this session is to demonstrate how to include value in evaluations by centering and operationalizing valuing and values in evaluation purpose statements, evaluation questions, and evaluation criteria. We will share practical examples and exercises to support evaluation educators, new and emerging evaluators, and evaluation professionals who work collaboratively with program communities. Using the literature on valuing and values in addition to our experience as evaluators and evaluation educators, this session will include background on the role of value in evaluation’s story; the rationale for centering value in evaluation purpose statements, questions, and criteria to operationalize valuing and values in a clear and concrete way; and examples, exercises, and checklist guidance to support teaching, learning, and evaluation capacity building. Participants’ insights about implications for teaching, training, and practice, including suggestions for further research, will be discusses and summarized.
Relevance Statement: The terms “value,” “values,” and “valuing” come up regularly in the evaluation community. That “value” is part of the word “evaluation” signals the importance of understanding the role of value and related concepts in evaluation practice. In fact, the theme of the 2011 American Evaluation Association (AEA) annual conference was “Values and Valuing in Evaluation.” At the time, AEA president, Jennifer Greene (2011) wrote: [T]he contexts in which we work—in particular, the socio-political, economic, and cultural diversity of stakeholder interests and perspectives—are rich in varied value perspectives. These varied values get incorporated into our work through such evaluation components as the purpose and audience for the evaluation, the key questions to be addressed, and especially the criteria used to make judgments of program quality. . . [T]he role of evaluation in society, and the evaluator’s responsibilities for that role, offer further opportunities and challenges related to values and valuing in our work (para 3). However, engaging value in evaluation practice presents challenges, particularly for new and emerging evaluators. For evaluation educators and professionals working to build evaluation capacity, providing practical strategies for centering values and valuing can be similarly difficult. Adding to these challenges is the “values-free doctrine” long held by social science researchers (Davidson, 2015; Scriven, 2007, 2012). That is, due to a historical emphasis on research objectivity, researchers have sought to distance themselves and take a values-neutral stance. Although other beliefs about truth and ways of knowing have become commonplace, the values-free doctrine remains deeply ingrained in the ways many think about social science research, which impacts thinking about evaluation. Of course, a key distinction between research and evaluation is valuing. As Schwandt (2015) wrote: The distinguishing feature of evaluation as a practice is that it directly engages questions of the value of programs and policies. Evaluation is a judgment-oriented practice—it does not aim simply to describe some state of affairs but to offer a considered and reasoned judgment about the value of the state of affairs (p. 47). Engaging values and valuing through an evaluation purpose statement, evaluation questions, and evaluation criteria operationalizes value and makes value-related concepts more concrete. This demonstration focuses on practical strategies for teaching and learning how to do this. Using the literature on valuing and values in addition to our experience as evaluators and evaluation educators, this session will include background on the role of value in evaluation’s story; the rationale for centering value in evaluation purpose statements, questions, and criteria; and examples, exercises, and checklist guidance to support teaching and learning. Participants’ insights about implications for teaching, training, and practice, including suggestions for further research, will be discussed and summarized. Participants will leave this session with skills and tools to engage valuing and values in evaluation practice to building evaluation capacity. *Reference list not included due to word count.