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Session Title: In Living Color: Black Women in Evaluation, Teaching and Praxis
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Panel Session 132 to be held in Wekiwa 4 on Wednesday, Nov 11, 4:30 PM to 6:00 PM
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Sponsored by the Feminist Issues in Evaluation TIG
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| Chair(s): |
| Tristi Nichols, Manitou Inc, tnichols@manitouinc.com
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| Discussant(s):
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| Anna Madison, University of Massachusetts Boston, anna.madison@umb.edu
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| Abstract:
The panel includes four presentations highlighting the need for understanding the role of context and evaluation practice in academic and other professional settings. Each presentation focuses on expanding evaluation in educational and professional settings. Re-defining evaluative practices within traditional academic settings will be discussed in The Intersection of Race and Gender in the Ivory Tower: Evaluating Academic Life for Women of Color. Incorporating evaluation practices in asynchronous academic settings will be discussed in Evaluation in Asynchronous Learning Environments: Examining the Experiences of African American Women. Evaluation Practice in Schools of Social Work: Is It Deemed a Scholarly Activity provides a discussion on intersectionality of evaluation practice as a scholarly activity and its impact on African American women faculty. Finally, Black Women at the Evaluation Cross provides a discussion regarding the contribution of Black women to the evaluation profession. The influence of race/gender in academic/evaluation settings will also be discussed.
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The Intersection of Race and Gender in the Ivory Tower: Evaluating Academic Life for Women of Color
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| Kimberly Farris, United States Army Center for Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine, kimberlydfarris@gmail.com
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Historically, women have faced multi-systemic challenges, such as discrimination and inequality in academic departments/universities, with regards to the structure of the tenure and promotion process. For women of color in academic settings, the intersection of race and gender compounds the ability to successfully negotiate academic life in the "Ivory Tower". The influence of culture and diversity among faculty are two important concepts within the social work profession, yet it remains a missing piece in the actual presence of the faculty members in numerous schools of social work. The initiation of a dialogue is needed on the following issues: exploring of the need of context-sensitive evaluation as it relates to the tenure and promotion process; understanding how race and gender may positively and/or negatively influence the process; and, successful development of methods that will produce culturally and gender sensitive approaches, in turn, leading to successfully implementation of policy and practices.
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Evaluation in Asynchronous Learning Environments: Examining the Experiences of Black Women
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| JaMuir Robinson, Walden University, jamuir.robinson@waldenu.edu
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Recently, the number of online colleges/universities has increased. This setting, where asynchronous learning occurs, is thought to provide more flexibility for students and instructors. Despite this growth, little literature exists regarding experiences of online faculty members and particularly minority faculty members. Minority professors represent approximately 12% of full professorships, with a smaller number representing Black women. The percentage of Black female faculty members at online institutions is difficult to assess. Little is known about their experiences in online environments where gender/race is not as easily identified, but come into play. Understanding how race/gender play out in the experiences of black female faculty is needed. This presentation will examine and discuss available data on the experiences of this group in online settings, the need for research on experiences with regard to professional growth, departmental support, and performance evaluation given that many online institutions do not utilize traditional tenure and promotion processes.
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Evaluation Practice in Schools of Social Work: Is It Deemed a Scholarly Activity
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| Jenny Jones, Virginia Commonwealth University, jljones2@vcu.edu
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Evaluation practice in the academy has increased significantly in recent years, particularly in schools of social work. This increase is due partly to a renewed focus on community engagement, suggesting an attempt to bridge the gap between the community and academy. Even with this increase, many research-one social work schools have not embraced evaluation as a scholarly activity. Lack of support for evaluation practice oftentimes creates obstacles for Black women faculty committed to improving lives of people of color. Additionally, this group tends to be marginalized by white colleagues as not being "true scholars" because of engagement in evaluation practice as a science. Impact of marginalization potentially affects productivity and erodes professional self-esteem. This presentation explores the intersectionality of evaluation practice as a scholarly activity, the impact of lack of acknowledgement on this group, and how race/gender is factored as it relates to social justice, research support, promotion and tenure.
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Black Women at the Evaluation Cross
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| Sarita Davis, Georgia State University, saritadavis@gsu.edu
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Black women have been highly visible in positions of leadership in AEA (i.e., serving on the board, committees, and Topical Interest Groups (TIG's,). However, according to the 2008 AEA Internal Scan, a majority of the female members are white (67%) and people of color are male (8%). So, if the women are white and the people of color are male, why are Black women so active in AEA? This presentation looks at the visible and hidden places of leadership, research, and praxis of black women in AEA. The goal of this presentation is to understand the contribution of Black women to the profession of evaluation and identify strategies for expanding the pipeline.
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