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Session Title: University-based Evaluation Training Across National Contexts: Trends and Findings
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Panel Session 412 to be held in Wekiwa 10 on Thursday, Nov 12, 4:30 PM to 6:00 PM
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Sponsored by the Teaching of Evaluation TIG
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| Chair(s): |
| Stewart Donaldson, Claremont Graduate University, stewart.donaldson@cgu.edu
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| Discussant(s):
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| Stewart Donaldson, Claremont Graduate University, stewart.donaldson@cgu.edu
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| Abstract:
The pre-service preparation of evaluators through university-based training programs (UBTPs) has been the subject of sporadic inquiry for the professional evaluation associations, and occasionally accumulates in the publication of a UBTP directory. Although the profession of evaluation has developed greatly, the last comprehensive directory was published in 1994 (Altschuld, Engle, & Kim, 1994), leaving evaluation practitioners and policy-makers alike unsure as to the current state of UBTPs. However, with the proliferation of professional evaluation organizations (Donaldson, 2006) comes a renewed interest in the pre-service preparation of professional evaluators and the role of the University in training those evaluators. This panel of evaluation researchers and UBTP leaders has been convened to discuss recent trends and empirical research on UBETPs across contexts and countries, with representatives from the United States, Europe, and Australasia.
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European University Continuing Education Programs Devoted to Evaluation
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| Wolfgang Bewyl, University of Bern, wolfgang.beywl@zuw.unibe.ch
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In 2008 a survey has been finished which updates a picture which was already drawn a few years ago. The initial baseline survey was undertaken in 2004/2005 and published in Evaluation (Beywl/Harich 2007). The 2008 study by Beywl & Harich shows a decent growth in the number of programs (14 in all), although some programs are disappearing here and there.
For ten of the programs it was possible to get detailed data concerning aspects like entry requirements, covered areas of evaluation, student assessment types, number of graduates. Also figures on fees and quantities of contacts hours delivered are now are available for most of the programs. The density and stability of the programs is obviously a reflection of the strengths and weaknesses of national evaluation cultures. To enhance the quality of the programs and to bundle the resources some of them have formed a network of University programs in evaluation education with a beginning practical cooperation.
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University-based Training Programs Across Australasia
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| Rosalind Hurworth, University of Melbourne, r.hurworth@unimelb.edu.au
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Rosalind Hurworth will report on what is happening regarding evaluation training across Australasia but pay particular attention to trends that are occurring within the Centre for Program Evaluation at the University of Melbourne. The Centre has a unique course and this face-to-face and on-line program is growing both in terms of types of courses on offer and types of student it is attracting. She will also do some gazing into the crystal ball to consider what lies ahead in the Region.
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The Growth of University-based Evaluation Training in the United States Findings and Opportunities
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| John LaVelle, Claremont Graduate University, john.lavelle@cgu.edu
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| Stewart Donaldson, Claremont Graduate University, stewart.donaldson@cgu.edu
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Four evaluation training directories have been published since 1976, the most recent of which was published in 1994. Evaluation training directories were intended to provide snapshots of the current training programs, but the processes that created each directory have suffered from various methodological shortcomings (LaVelle, 2008). However, in spite of their various limitations, when combined, these data suggest a drastic decline in the number of evaluation UBTPs since 1976, a trend that has only recently begun to reverse itself (LaVelle, 2008; LaVelle & Donaldson, in progress). Using a combination of Internet research methodologies, curriculum analysis, qualitative interviewing, and innovative mapping technology, new research by LaVelle & Donaldson offers an in-depth picture of UBTPs in the U.S. with an emphasis on the different educational contexts in which evaluators are being trained. These new findings reveal that dramatic growth has occurred in recent years presenting aspiring and practicing evaluators with a wide range of training opportunities. This new opportunities will be presented and discussed with the audience.
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