| In a 90 minute Roundtable session, the first
rotation uses the first 45 minutes and the second rotation uses the last 45 minutes.
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| Roundtable Rotation I:
Increasing the Cultural Relevance of Evaluation in Informal Settings |
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Roundtable Presentation 565 to be held in Balboa A on Friday, Nov 4, 8:00 AM to 9:30 AM
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Sponsored by the Multiethnic Issues in Evaluation TIG
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| Presenter(s):
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| Jill Stein, Institute for Learning Innovation, stein@ilinet.org
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| Shelly Valdez, Native Pathways, shilaguna@aol.com
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| Joe Heimlich, Ohio State University, heimlich@ilinet.org
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| Abstract:
This roundtable discussion will build upon the authors' work in evaluating informal learning settings as experienced by 'underrepresented' or 'minority' groups, and will explore the role of cultural or community-based values in shaping evaluation practice and thereby rendering evaluations focused on these groups more meaningful and valid. In order for evaluation to be most useful and relevant - particularly within communities outside the mainstream culture that has so far had the most influence on the evaluation field - evaluators need to find ways to ensure that evaluative frameworks, measures of success, methodologies, data collection tools, and analysis approaches have 'ecological validity' within the contexts and communities in which they are working. The authors will briefly present on recent evaluation work that highlights these areas and then will facilitate a discussion focused on how evaluators can refine our practice to better reflect diverse cultural contexts, especially those that are different from our own.
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| Roundtable Rotation II:
Linking Developmental Evaluation and Social Justice |
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Roundtable Presentation 565 to be held in Balboa A on Friday, Nov 4, 8:00 AM to 9:30 AM
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Sponsored by the Multiethnic Issues in Evaluation TIG
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| Presenter(s):
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| Anna Madison, University of Massachusetts, Boston, anna.madison@umb.edu
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| Abstract:
Social justice is cited as the mission of many human services organizations serving society's most oppressed populations. Yet, few can explain how their programs advance the mission of social justice. To the contrary, in most cases, these programs address the symptoms of social injustice rather than the causal conditions that created the need for perpetual support to maintain daily living. This roundtable raises questions regarding partnerships between evaluators and community-based human services organizations to align program design with social justice goals. Drawing from Michael Patton's developmental evaluation premise, that evaluators' involvement in program design and development could contribute to improving the effectiveness of programs, the roundtable focuses on clarifying the alignment between human service programming and creating a more justice and democratic society. Hopefully, participants in this roundtable will form a network to test ideas leading to evaluation theory development and to advance movement toward more effective evaluation use.
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