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Supporting the Conditions for Organizational Development: A Case Study Examining the Role of the Evaluator
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| Presenter(s):
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| Cheryl-Anne Poth,
Queen's University,
pothc@educ.queensu.ca
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| Abstract:
Using the Queen's University Inter-Professional Patient-centered Education Direction (QUIPPED) as an evaluation case study, this paper describes an approach to the study of evaluation use when it is informed by the field of complexity science. Our current understandings describe organizations as operating in a constant state of flux. These shifting organizational contexts demand close contact to be maintained with the evaluator. Evaluation use studies have yet to examine the role of the evaluator in meeting the conditions supportive of organizational learning under these contexts. Popular approaches to evaluation planning remains focused on reducing the complexity of evaluation by the identification of pathways of use. Complexity science and organizational theory offer a powerful alternative to conceptualizing the role of evaluation and the role of the evaluator. This paper reports the analysis of a developmental evaluation process examining the role of the evaluator participating in an organization's development.
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Evaluation Influence and Evaluation Utilization: Comparison of Theories and Application to a Case
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| Presenter(s):
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| Mijung Yoon,
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign,
myoon1@uiuc.edu
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| Abstract:
This paper reviews the theories on influence of evaluation and examines relevance of the theories to evaluation practice by applying theoretical concepts to an evaluation case. First, it briefly describes the background of theories on evaluation influence as a response to Patton's utilization-focused evaluation. Next, it compares on several dimensions the theories on evaluation influence by Kirkhart (2000) and Henry and Mark (2003), and the conceptual framework by Cousins (2003) on utilization of evaluation. Finally, it discusses and critiques these conceptualizations by applying them to a case of evaluation of a community youth service organization, showing what are the strengths and weaknesses of the conceptualizations and what can be the contexts in which the conceptualizations are most relevant.
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Implications of a Case Study for Mark and Henry's Schematic Model of Evaluation Influence
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| Presenter(s):
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| Shu-Huei Cheng,
National Hsinchu University of Education,
chen0777@umn.edu
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| Jean King,
University of Minnesota,
kingx004@umn.edu
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| Abstract:
This case study, based on Mark and Henry's (2004) framework, used interviews and document review to explore the influence of the evaluation of a literacy improvement program that had been implemented in two elementary schools in a Midwestern state of the USA. Consistent with Mark and Henry's model, this study identified that various types and processes of evaluation effects, facilitated by general influence, were interrelated with one another. This study, nevertheless, proposed a modified framework to better describe the change process through which evaluation affected literacy instruction in these schools. Compared to Mark and Henry's model, the study did not endorse step-by-step pathways that led to behavioral change. Instead, the influence processes were complex and nonlinear, raising questions about the extent to which research can accurately identify specific pathways or mechanisms as the model suggests. The paper will discuss implications for both theory and practice.
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