| Session Title: Participatory Evaluation in Postsecondary Education: An Oxymoron? |
| Think Tank Session 813 to be held in Suwannee 17 on Saturday, Nov 14, 11:50 AM to 12:35 PM |
| Sponsored by the Assessment in Higher Education TIG |
| Presenter(s): |
| Stanley Varnhagen, University of Alberta, stanley.varnhagen@ualberta.ca |
| Discussant(s): |
| Cheryl Poth, University of Alberta, cpoth@ualberta.ca |
| Jason Daniels, University of Alberta, jason.daniels@ualberta.ca |
| Andrew Lejeune, University of Alberta, andrew.lejeune@ualberta.ca |
| Stanley Varnhagen, University of Alberta, stanley.varnhagen@ualberta.ca |
| Abstract: Evaluation has a vital role to play in ensuring accountability in postsecondary education; however, in many cases, evaluation use is limited. Participatory evaluation offers an approach to broaden evaluation's potential use. Our main challenge in using a participatory approach within a post-secondary context is the willingness of academics to engage in this approach. Their reasons for reluctance include the institutions' conservative nature, limited understanding of evaluation, concerns around consequences, decentralization, and suspicion of top-down directives. This session will begin with a brief background related to our working context and experiences with participatory methods. Participants will then be invited to engage in small group discussion facilitated by session presenters followed by large group sharing. Topics for discussion include related experiences, perceptions, suggestions for increasing evaluative capacity, differing evaluative contexts, and participatory evaluation's role. Finally, the organizers will summarize. |