Download or read book Growing the Knowledge Base in Evaluation written by Jill Anne Chouinard and published by IAP. This book was released on 2019-09-01 with total page 175 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Evaluation use was identified by Henry and Mark (2003) as being the single most studied area in the field of evaluation. They refer with a sense of nostalgia to the ‘golden age’ of research on use perhaps almost implying that it came and went. Professor J. Bradley Cousins has had a longstanding and continuing commitment to advancing theory and practice regarding use through empirical research on evaluation, and through the professional development of students and practitioners within North America and internationally. The important influence and impact of the contributions of Cousins and associates is the focus of this edited book. This book brings together a distinguished, international group of authors, to reflect on the areas of contribution of Professor Cousins, and situate his work within contemporary areas of evaluation research and practice. Each chapter describes how the study and practice of evaluation has weaved its way through our understanding of organizational learning, participatory evaluation, and evaluation capacity building. The book concludes with a reflection by Professor Cousins himself on what these insights mean for the field of evaluation, and what future areas of research and contribution can be planned for and anticipated.

Download or read book Introduction to Theory Driven Program Evaluation written by Stewart I. Donaldson and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2021-09-30 with total page 229 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Introduction to Theory-Driven Program Evaluation provides a clear guide for practicing evaluation science, and numerous examples of how these evaluations actually unfold in contemporary practice. A special emphasis is placed how to conduct theory-driven program evaluations that are culturally responsive and strengths-focused. In this thoroughly revised new edition, author Stewart I. Donaldson provides a state-of-the art treatment of the basics of conducting theory-driven program evaluations. Each case follows a three-step model: developing program impact theory; formulating and prioritizing evaluation questions; and answering evaluation questions. The initial chapters discuss the evolution and popularity of theory-driven program evaluation, as well as step-by-step guide for culturally responsive and strengths-focused applications. Succeeding chapters provide actual cases and discuss the practical implications of theory-driven evaluation science. Reflections, challenges, and lessons learned across numerous cases from practices are discussed. The volume is of significant value to practicing evaluators, professors of introductory evaluation courses and their students, advanced undergraduate and graduate students, and serves as a text or a supplementary text for a wide range of evaluation and applied research courses. It is also of great interest to those interested in the connections between work and health, well-being, career development, human service organizations, and organizational improvement and effectiveness.

Download or read book Continuing the Journey to Reposition Culture and Cultural Context in Evaluation Theory and Practice written by Stafford Hood and published by IAP. This book was released on 2014-12-01 with total page 405 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Racial, ethnic, linguistic, and cultural diversity has become of global importance in places where many never would have imagined. Increasing diversity in the U.S., Europe, Africa, New Zealand, and Asia strongly suggests that a homogeneity-based focus is rapidly becoming an historical artifact. Therefore, culturally responsive evaluation (CRE) should no longer be viewed as a luxury or an option in our work as evaluators. The continued amplification of racial, ethnic, linguistic, and cultural diversity and awareness among the populations of the U.S. and other western nations insists that social science researchers and evaluators inextricably engage culturally responsive approaches in their work. It is unacceptable for most mainstream university evaluation programs, philanthropic agencies, training institutes sponsored by federal agencies, professional associations, and other entities to promote professional evaluation practices that do not attend to CRE. Our global demographics are a reality that can be appropriately described and studied within the context of complexity theory and theory of change (e.g., Stewart, 1991; Battram, 1999). And this perspective requires a distinct shift from “simple” linear cause-effect models and reductionist thinking to include more holistic and culturally responsive approaches. The development of policy that is meaningfully responsive to the needs of traditionally disenfranchised stakeholders and that also optimizes the use of limited resources (human, natural, and financial) is an extremely complex process. Fortunately, we are presently witnessing developments in methods, instruments, and statistical techniques that are mixed methods in their paradigm/designs and likely to be more effective in informing policymaking and decision-making. Culturally responsive evaluation is one such phenomenon that positions itself to be relevant in the context of dynamic international and national settings where policy and program decisions take place. One example of a response to address this dynamic and need is the newly established Center for Culturally Responsive Evaluation and Assessment (CREA) in the College of Education at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. CREA is an outgrowth of the collective work and commitments of a global community of scholars and practitioners who have contributed chapters to this edited volume. It is an international and interdisciplinary evaluation center that is grounded in the need for designing and conducting evaluations and assessments that embody cognitive, cultural, and interdisciplinary diversity so as to be actively responsive to culturally diverse communities and their aspirations. The Center’s purpose is to address questions, issues, theories, and practices related to CRE and culturally responsive educational assessment. Therefore, CREA can serve as a vehicle for our continuing discourse on culture and cultural context in evaluation and also as a point of dissemination for not only the work that is included in this edited volume, but for the subsequent work it will encourage.

Download or read book OECD Reviews of Evaluation and Assessment in Education Northern Ireland United Kingdom written by Shewbridge Claire and published by OECD Publishing. This book was released on 2014-01-16 with total page 204 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This comprehensive review of Northern Ireland's educational evaluation and assessment framework finds a programme that is thoughtfully designed and which stands out internationally.

Download or read book Envisioning Scholar Practitioner Collaborations written by Derek Van Rheenen and published by IAP. This book was released on 2018-01-01 with total page 209 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Envisioning Scholar-Practitioner Collaborations: Building Communities of Practice in Education and Sport presents a collection of case studies of collaborations between scholars and practitioners dedicated to both the generation of new knowledge and innovative best practices at the nexus of education and sport. This inaugural text in a series sponsored by the Research Focus on Education and Sport Special Interest Group of the American Educational Research Association seeks to reveal a number of educational spaces in which this critical work takes place. The volume, comprising ten unique collaborations, outlines the important intellectual and social work of scholar-practitioners at the intersection of institutional sport and education at a variety of sites, both in school and in non-school settings. Each of these chapters has a unique set of research questions, programmatic goals and findings. For the purpose of this book, however, contributors have described the nature of their collaborations—for whom and by whom these collaborations are forged—such that the “findings” are presented as lessons learned from the process of collaboration. This book reveals educational spaces where scholars and practitioners are collaborating and generating new understandings of the world we know. We characterize this effort as mutually beneficial and respectful, engendering a vision of hope, exploration and educational transformation.

Download or read book Agroforestry in Sustainable Agricultural Systems written by Louise E. Buck and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 1998-12-28 with total page 434 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Agroforestry in Sustainable Agricultural Systems examines the environmental and social conditions that affect the roles and performance of trees in field- and forest-based agricultural production systems. Various types of ecological settings for agroforestry are analyzed within temperate and tropical regions. The roles of soil, water, light, nutrient and pest management in mixed, annual, woody perennial and livestock systems are discussed. Important new case studies from around the world offer innovative strategies that have been used successfully in raising forests and tree products on a sustainable basis for commercial harvesting and for providing other environmental services in land conservation and watershed management.

Download or read book A Practical Guide to Teacher Education Evaluation written by Jerry B. Ayers and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-12-06 with total page 245 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: J. T. Sandefur Western Kentucky University American's ability to compete in world markets is eroding. The productivity growth of our competitors outdistances our own. The capacity of our economy to provide a high standard of living for all our people is increasingly in doubt. As jobs requiring little skill are automated or go offshore and demand increases for the highly skilled, the pool of educated and skilled people grows smaller and the backwater of the unemployable rises. Large numbers of American children are in limbo--ignorant of the past and unprepared for the future. Many are dropping out--notjust out of school--but out of productive society. These are not my words. They are a direct quote from the Executive Summary of the Carnegie Forum Report on Education and the Economy entitled A Nation Prepared: Teachers for the 21st Century (p. 2, 1986). This report was motivated by four purposes: 1. To remind Americans, yet again, of the economic challenges pressing us on all sides; 2. To assert the primacy of education as the foundation of economic growth, equal opportunity and a shared national vision; 3. To reaffirm that the teaching profession is the best hope for establishing new standards of excellence as the hallmark of American education; and 4. To point out that a remarkable window of opportunity lies before us in the next decade to reform education, an opportunity that may not present itself again until well into the next century.

Download or read book Impact Evaluation in Practice Second Edition written by Paul J. Gertler and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2016-09-12 with total page 364 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The second edition of the Impact Evaluation in Practice handbook is a comprehensive and accessible introduction to impact evaluation for policy makers and development practitioners. First published in 2011, it has been used widely across the development and academic communities. The book incorporates real-world examples to present practical guidelines for designing and implementing impact evaluations. Readers will gain an understanding of impact evaluations and the best ways to use them to design evidence-based policies and programs. The updated version covers the newest techniques for evaluating programs and includes state-of-the-art implementation advice, as well as an expanded set of examples and case studies that draw on recent development challenges. It also includes new material on research ethics and partnerships to conduct impact evaluation. The handbook is divided into four sections: Part One discusses what to evaluate and why; Part Two presents the main impact evaluation methods; Part Three addresses how to manage impact evaluations; Part Four reviews impact evaluation sampling and data collection. Case studies illustrate different applications of impact evaluations. The book links to complementary instructional material available online, including an applied case as well as questions and answers. The updated second edition will be a valuable resource for the international development community, universities, and policy makers looking to build better evidence around what works in development.

Download or read book Advocacy and Policy Change Evaluation written by Annette Gardner and published by Stanford University Press. This book was released on 2017-04-11 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the first book-length treatment of the concepts, designs, methods, and tools needed to conduct effective advocacy and policy change evaluations. By integrating insights from different disciplines, Part I provides a conceptual foundation for navigating advocacy tactics within today's turbulent policy landscape. Part II offers recommendations for developing appropriate evaluation designs and working with unique advocacy and policy change–oriented instruments. Part III turns toward opportunities and challenges in this growing field. In addition to describing actual designs and measures, the chapters includes suggestions for addressing the specific challenges of working in a policy setting, such as a long time horizon for achieving meaningful change. To illuminate and advance this area of evaluation practice, the authors draw on over 30 years of evaluation experience; collective wisdom based on a new, large-scale survey of evaluators in the field; and in-depth case studies on diverse issues—from the environment, to public health, to human rights. Ideal for evaluators, change makers, and funders, this book is the definitive guide to advocacy and policy change evaluation.

Download or read book Evaluation for an Equitable Society written by Stewart I. Donaldson and published by IAP. This book was released on 2016-04-01 with total page 253 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Governments and organizations of all shapes and sizes espouse values of equity and social justice. Yet, there are many examples of unfair social arrangements and employment conditions, dysfunctional government practices, and growing income inequality in both developed and developing countries worldwide. The profession and transdiscipline of evaluation is well equipped to address issues of inequality and social injustice, but until recently has been much more focused on primary stakeholder and donor satisfaction (being as useful as possible to funders of interventions and evaluations) and accountability concerns. The authors in this volume challenge the field of evaluation to become more concerned about using evaluation to develop more equitable organizations, governments, and societies. Leading evaluation theorists and practitioners including Michael Scriven, Jennifer Greene, Thomas Schwandt, Emily Gates, Sandra Mathison, Karen Kirkhart, Saville Kushner, Lois-Ellin Datta, Ernest House, Robert Stake, Patricia Rogers, Robert Picciotto and Stewart Donaldson, provide a range of visions for how evaluation can play a much larger role in facilitating social justice across the globe. Evaluation for an Equitable Society will be of great interest to evaluation practitioners, students and scholars. It will be of interest to those teaching and taking introductory evaluation courses, as well as advanced courses focused on improving evaluation theory and practice.

Download or read book Agroforestry Science Policy and Practice written by Fergus L. Sinclair and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2013-03-09 with total page 300 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Agroforestry research is central to developing methods for the sustainable use of natural renewable resources, evolving to address the needs of the coming century. It is now necessary to consolidate the scientific gains now being made in process-oriented research and to develop a policy framework to encourage the adoption of sustainable land use practices. Agroforestry plays an important role in conserving forest resources, reducing the need for deforestation. Further, if `forest' is broadly defined as tree cover, agroforestry will also increase the proportion of woody biomass in farming landscapes. The papers selected for inclusion in Agroforestry: Science, Policy, and Practice establish agroforestry as an interdisciplinary science focused on the practical imperative of assisting farmers, forest dwellers and landscape-level planners to achieve sustainable food, fuel and timber production into the 21st century.

Download or read book Principles for Collaboration on Evaluation written by and published by . This book was released on 1995 with total page 2 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The Role of Culture and Cultural Context in Evaluation written by Stafford Hood and published by IAP. This book was released on 2005-11-01 with total page 245 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume seeks to address select questions drawn from the matrix of the complex issues related to culturally responsive evaluation. We ask, should evaluation be culturally responsive? Is the field heading in the right direction in its attempt to become more culturally responsive? We ask, what is culturally responsive evaluation today and what might it become tomorrow? This edited volume does not promise to deliver answers to all, most, or even many of the complex answers facing the evaluation community regarding the role of culture and cultural context in evaluative theory and practice. This is not a scientific undertaking. We are not ready for concerns with prediction, explanation or control. We are ready for serious explorations, however. Even if the evaluation community cannot articulate the necessary and sufficient conditions for a culturally relevant evaluation it does know several of the desiderata. Our concern and the direction of this volume has been reflections of evaluation theory, history, and practice within the context of culture with illustrative examples.

Download or read book Participatory Evaluation Up Close written by J. Bradley Cousins and published by IAP. This book was released on 2012-07-01 with total page 309 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Empiricism provides the backbone of knowledge creation within social science disciplines (e.g., psychology, sociology) and applied domains of study (e.g., education, administration) alike. Yet, relative to such domains of inquiry, comparatively little empirical research on evaluation has occurred, and the research knowledge base been infrequently synthesized and integrated to influence theory and practice. The proposed book aims to fill this void with regard to participatory evaluation, a set of collaborative approaches to evaluation that is receiving considerable attention of late, including a growing body of empirical studies. The authors begin in Part 1 with the delineation of a widely known and familiar conceptual framework for participatory evaluation. They then use the framework in Part 2 as a guide to conducting an extensive review of the extant empirical knowledge base in participatory evaluation, culminating in a thematic analysis of what we know about the approach. In Part 3 the authors focus on methodological considerations of doing research on participatory evaluation through a critique of existing studies and an explication of design choices drawn from their own research program. The book concludes in Part 4 with implications for moving the field forward in terms of important research questions, methodological direction and evaluation practice. This book will be of central interest to evaluation theorists and to those who choose to conduct research on evaluation; appeal will be conceptual and methodological. It will provide excellent supplementary reading for graduate students, many of whom seek to develop empirical studies on evaluation as part of their graduate programs. Rife with examples of participatory evaluation in practice, and practical implications, the book will also benefit evaluation practitioners with an interest in evaluation capacity building and participatory and collaborative approaches to practice.

Download or read book Food Systems Evaluation Methods and Sustainability Assessment written by Bradley George Ridoutt and published by Frontiers Media SA. This book was released on 2024-03-08 with total page 159 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The food system is responsible for some of society’s most pressing sustainability challenges. Diets are currently unsustainable in many countries as evidenced by the growing burden of malnutrition, degradation of natural resources, contributions to climate change, and unaffordability of healthy diets. There is an urgent need to address the gaps in understanding of what a sustainable food system means across varying populations and geographies and how we can better measure these systems, while identifying how dietary choices impact on human health and the environment. However, decision makers and experts are questioning whether it is possible to meet environmental, social, and economic goals simultaneously, or whether trade-offs are necessary. Thus, the development of better measurements and indicators to clearly understand the benefits and considerations for healthy and sustainable food systems is needed.

Download or read book Handbook of Psychology Forensic Psychology written by Irving B. Weiner and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2012-10-16 with total page 727 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Psychology is of interest to academics from many fields, as well as to the thousands of academic and clinical psychologists and general public who can't help but be interested in learning more about why humans think and behave as they do. This award-winning twelve-volume reference covers every aspect of the ever-fascinating discipline of psychology and represents the most current knowledge in the field. This ten-year revision now covers discoveries based in neuroscience, clinical psychology's new interest in evidence-based practice and mindfulness, and new findings in social, developmental, and forensic psychology.

Download or read book Outcome Harvesting written by Ricardo Wilson-Grau and published by IAP. This book was released on 2018-11-01 with total page 247 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Are you a grant maker, manager or evaluator who must assess your work to improve as well as be accountable for the use of resources and results? Does the project, program or organization you fund, manage or evaluate contend with substantial uncertainty about what to do and what will be the results? Do you thus experience constant change and unexpected and unforeseeable actors and factors in your intervention? Do you need to know what you are achieving and how in real time? And therefore, do you seek an alternative to conventional monitoring and evaluation of social change results? If yes, then you are the audience for this book. Beginning in 2002, working closely with co-evaluators and commissioners of evaluations, the author developed Outcome Harvesting to enable evaluators, grant makers, and managers to identify, formulate, verify, and make sense of changes that interventions have influenced in a broad range of cutting–edge innovation and development projects and programs around the world. Over these years, he led Outcome Harvesting evaluative exercises involving almost 500 non-governmental organizations, networks, government agencies, funding agencies, community-based organizations, research institutes and university programs. In over fifty evaluations, with forty co-evaluators he has harvested thousands of outcomes on six continents. Outcome Harvesting has proven useful in evaluations of a great diversity of initiatives: human rights advocacy, political, economic and environmental advocacy, arts and culture, health systems, information and communication technology, conflict and peace, water and sanitation, taxonomy for development, violence against women, rural development, organic agriculture, participatory democracy, waste management, public sector reform, good governance, eLearning, social accountability, and business competition, amongst others. In this book, the author explains the steps of Outcome Harvesting and how to customize them according to the nine underlying principles. He shares his experience and gives practical advice on how to work with Outcome Harvesting and remain true to its essential features.