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Organizational Resistance to Evaluative Reflection and Learning
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| Presenter(s):
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| David Campbell,
University of California Davis,
dave.c.campbell@ucdavis.edu
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| Abstract:
This paper presents a meta-analysis of six recent evaluations in which the goal of creating learning communities was frustrated to greater or lesser degrees. In retrospect, the failures are not attributable to faulty designs or other evaluation mechanics. Rather, attending focally to these matters created a kind of tunnel vision that blinded evaluators to aspects of the organizational context that proved decisive in facilitating or hindering organizational learning and adaptation that took advantage of evaluation findings. This paper draws on the organizational development literature to illuminate common sources of resistance to evaluative reflection, illustrating these with case examples from government and foundation sponsored evaluations. Theory and practice points to a conundrum for evaluation practice: how to be engaged critically with organizational stakeholders without unwittingly exacerbating a climate of anxiety and defensiveness that undermines the spirit of open inquiry we hope to foster.
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Higher Ed Assessment: The Role of Institutional Context in Faculty Engagement
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| Presenter(s):
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| Susan Boser,
Indiana University of Pennsylvania,
sboser@iup.edu
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| Abstract:
Accrediting and licensure bodies have been moving US higher education institutions into student learning outcomes assessment since the 1990s, and remain a keenly felt presence. However, higher education institutions often experience multiple challenges to developing systematic outcomes assessment and utilizing such evaluation for program improvement. Interestingly, faculty resistance to assessment often presents one particular challenge. This session will look at the role of the institutional context in influencing faculty attitudes toward assessment, examining particular institutional characteristics that might inhibit and those that might promote faculty participation in assessment. In particular, this paper will draw on case examples and a review of the literature to suggest some specific strategies that institutions might use to introduce quality assessment practices to faculty, support active use of assessment findings for curriculum revision and sustain on-going assessment use. Comments will draw selectively on research regarding evaluation use, systems theory, and the literature of participatory evaluation.
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Building Capacity Through Empowerment Evaluation: Is Principled Practice Possible in a Resource-Constrained Setting?
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| Presenter(s):
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| Wendi Siebold,
Evaluation, Management and Training Associates Inc,
wendi.lyn1@gmail.com
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| Rhonda Johnson,
University of Alaska,
rhonda.johnson@uaa.alaska.edu
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| Abstract:
A core tenet of empowerment evaluation (EE) is building the capacity of local practitioners to evaluate their efforts. While promising in theory, the practice of EE proves to be challenging when working with organizations and practitioners who have limited time and funding for evaluation activities and capacity-building. The ten “principles” of EE introduced by Fetterman and Wandersman (2005) frame EE practice, yet tensions between these principles become prevalent in resource-constrained settings. For example, the principle of “inclusion” is difficult to achieve when following the principle of “capacity building.” Key stakeholders whose evaluation capacity needs to be built to ensure the institutionalization of evaluation (i.e. program executive directors), are often the hardest to involve due to time constraints. The application of empowerment evaluation in the national CDC-funded DELTA domestic violence prevention initiative offers insights into whether it is truly possible for evaluators to shift from conducting evaluation to building evaluation capacity.
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