|
Session Title: Quality in Evaluation: How Do We Know It When We See It in Qualitative Evaluations?
|
|
Panel Session 728 to be held in Texas B on Saturday, Nov 13, 8:00 AM to 9:30 AM
|
|
Sponsored by the Qualitative Methods TIG
|
| Chair(s): |
| Leslie Goodyear, National Science Foundation, lgoodyea@nsf.gov
|
| Abstract:
What is quality in evaluation and how do we know it when we see it? As editors of the forthcoming book, Qualitative Inquiry in the Practice of Evaluation, we have had to wrestle with our assumptions about evaluation theory, evaluation practice and what constitutes quality in evaluation. In planning the book and reviewing submissions, we have confronted questions of quality as they relate to contextual issues, data issues, and evaluator roles and responsibilities. In the process, we have wondered: Are there elements of quality that are unique to qualitative evaluations? In this session, we share, in a dialogic fashion, some of what we have learned in that process and discuss the complexities of gauging evaluation quality. Participants in this session will be encouraged to join in the conversation and share their own perspectives on what constitutes quality in qualitative evaluation.
|
|
|
| Leslie Goodyear, National Science Foundation, lgoodyea@nsf.gov
|
|
Leslie Goodyear lives a double life: She is a Senior Research Scientist at Education Development Center in Newton, MA, but is currently on loan to the National Science Foundation where she works as a program officer in the Division of Research on Learning. In her role at NSF, she reviews grant proposals, funds worthy projects and advises the Division and its programs about project and program evaluation. In her spare time, she consults on multiple evaluation projects and serves as a dissertation proposal reviewer with an eye toward qualitative methods. Dr. Goodyear is the current section editor for the Ethics section of the American Journal of Evaluation and has recently completed her term on the Board of Directors for AEA. Her primary evaluation interests include integration of high quality qualitative inquiry into evaluation studies, creative and innovative representations of evaluation findings to diverse audiences, and evaluation capacity building. Every conversation she has with her co-editors leaves her thinking new thoughts and exploring new territory related to evaluation quality and qualitative evaluation.
|
|
|
|
| Jennifer Jewiss, University of Vermont, jennifer.jewiss@uvm.edu
|
|
Jennifer Jewiss is a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Education at the University of Vermont. Dr. Jewiss specializes in qualitative research and evaluation that is often developmental or formative in nature. Over the past twelve years, she has conducted numerous studies of environmental, human service, education, and health initiatives supported through federal, state, and foundation funding. Several recent projects have been conducted in partnership with the Conservation Study Institute, a research and think tank of the U.S. National Park Service. Dr. Jewiss has taught a graduate course on program evaluation that introduces education, health, and human service providers to the field. She is frequently asked to serve as a methodological advisor for qualitative research and evaluation projects being carried out by colleagues in academic and governmental institutions. She credits her students, colleagues, and clients with raising many compelling questions about what constitutes quality in the realm of evaluation.
| |
|
|
| Janet Usinger, University of Nevada, Reno, usingerj@unr.edu
|
|
Janet Usinger is an Associate Professor at the University of Nevada, Reno. She has an outreach teaching responsibility, working with K-12 and higher education institutions throughout the state in the areas of P-16 articulation and leadership. Of particular interest are first generation college going students from both urban and rural settings and has had overall responsibility for the evaluation of the Nevada State GEAR UP project since 2001. Her research interests include perceptions, understanding and relationships that individuals hold regarding the educational institutions which they are affiliated. She has formally and informally advised numerous doctoral students whose dissertations involve qualitative inquiry. Prior to joining the Department of Educational Leadership, she was an administrator for Cooperative Extension at the state and national level. She has particularly valued the collaboration among the co-editors of this book in that the conversations have stretched her thinking about both evaluation and qualitative inquiry.
| |
|
|
| Eric Barela, Partners in School Innovation, ebarela@partnersinschools.org
|
|
Eric Barela is the Chief Organizational Performance Officer at Partners in School Innovation, a San Francisco-based nonprofit working to enable public schools in low-income areas to achieve equity through school-based literacy reform. In this role, he is working on implementing rigorous and meaningful qualitative evaluation into the organization’s performance management system. Previously, Dr. Barela spent seven years working for the Los Angeles Unified School District’s Program Evaluation and Research Branch, where he conducted several qualitative evaluations designed to determine effective school-based practices in high-performing, high-poverty schools. He has also taught teachers and administrators to use both qualitative and quantitative research methods to drive improvement in instruction and leadership. Eric currently serves on the Editorial Advisory Board of the American Journal of Evaluation. He considers himself very fortunate to be collaborating with his co-editors, who always advance his thinking around evaluation quality.
| |