Core Concepts in Evaluation
Classic Writings and Contemporary Commentary

Edited by:

Lori A. Wingate - Western Michigan University, USA
Ayesha S. Boyce - Arizona State University, USA
Lyssa Wilson Becho - Western Michigan University, USA
Kelly N. Robertson - Western Michigan University, USA

Other Titles in:
Evaluation | Evaluation (General) | Policy Evaluations

February 2025 | 392 pages | SAGE Publications, Inc

This unique book features original writings from evaluation's foundational thinkers, together with new commentaries from contemporary authors. Each section includes an introduction to a core evaluation concept by the editors, a classic reading, two commentaries on that topic by contemporary authors, and a reflection guide written by the editors.

Lori A. Wingate, Ayesha S. Boyce, Lyssa Wilson Becho, and Kelly N. Robertson

Introduction

Intended Audience

The Core Concepts

The Classic Pieces

Diverse Voices in Evaluation

Shining a Light on One Early Black Evaluation Scholar: Leander Boykin’s Commentary on the Nature of Evaluation

Structure of the Book

Positionality Statements

Leander L. Boykin

Introduction Classic Piece: Let’s Eliminate the Confusion: What is Evaluation?

What Evaluation Is Not

What Evaluation Is and Should Be

Part I. Evaluation is a distinct form of inquiry that is oriented to reaching judgments of merit, worth, or significance.

Lyssa Wilson Becho

Part I Introduction

Valuing as a Core Evaluation Concept

The Classic Writing on Valuing

Evolution of Valuing in Evaluation

This Book’s Contemporary Commentary on the Core Concept

End Notes

Michael Scriven

Part I Classic Piece: The Nature of Evaluation

Overview

The Nature of Evaluation

The Paradoxical Status of Evaluation

From Practice to Methodology to Discipline

The Country of the Mind

Criteria for a New Discipline

The Emerging Discipline of Evaluation

Midcourse Review

The Key Problem: The Validation of Evaluations

The Scope of Evaluation

Final Review

The State of Current Practice in Program Evaluation

Why Does All This Matter?

End Notes

Bianca Montrosse-Moorhead and Khalil Bitar

Chapter 1: Amending the Architectural Blueprints for Evaluation

Scriven’s Definition and Its Enduring Impact on Evaluation Scholarship and Practice

Our Argument for Amending the Definition of Evaluation to Include Ethics

The Practical-Moral Obligations of the Evaluation Discipline

Renovating the Evaluation Building

An Amended Definition of Evaluation

Implications of the Amended Definition of Evaluation

Conclusion

Ghislain Arbour

Chapter 2: Lack of Discipline: Answering Scriven’s Call for Value in (Program) Evaluation

Introduction

Scriven’s Call for Evaluation: About Value, Through Transdiscipline

Call Unanswered: The Case of Program Evaluation

Returning the Call: Program Evaluation as a Discipline

Conclusion: Toward (Common) Transdisciplinarity After All

Lyssa Wilson Becho

Part I Reflection Guide

Check Your Understanding

Consider Your Own Work

Extend Your Learning

Part II. Engagement enhances the usefulness and relevance of evaluation.

Kelly N. Robertson

Part II Introduction

Engagement as a Core Evaluation Concept

The Classic Writing on Evaluation Engagement

Evolution of Evaluation Engagement

This Book’s Contemporary Commentary on the Core Concept

End Note

Carol Weiss

Part II Classic Piece: The Stakeholder Approach to Evaluation: Origins and Promise

Critiques Point the Way to Something New

Early Reform Attempts

Development of the Stakeholder Model

Some Unresolved Issues

Promise of the Stakeholder Approach

The Stakeholder Approach in Action

Tatiana E. Bustos, Oyesola Oluwafunmilayo Ayeni, and Jessica S. Saucedo

Chapter 3: Evaluation Engagement: Historical Perspectives and New Directions With Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) Principles

Persistent Evaluation Challenges

Community-Based Participatory Action Research (CBPR) Principles

Conclusion

Sharon Attipoe-Dorcoo and Norma Martínez-Rubin

Chapter 4: I.M.P.A.C.T.: A Manumission Mindset and Other Engagement Approaches for Evaluation

Introduction

Weiss’s Classic Writing and Its Relation to Evaluation as an Engagement Approach

Evolution of Engagement in Evaluation Practice

The IMPACT Framework and Engagement

IMPACT Framework Components and How to Apply Them to Community Engagement

Future of Evaluation Engagement for Manumitted Communities

Kelly N. Robertson

Part II Reflection Guide

Check Your Understanding

Consider Your Own Work

Extend Your Learning

Part III. Evaluation is inherently political.

Lori A. Wingate

Part III Introduction

Politics as a Core Evaluation Concept

The Classic Writing on the Inherently Political Nature of Evaluation

Evolution of the Framing of Politics in Evaluation

This Book’s Contemporary Commentary on Politics and Evaluation

Eleanor Chelimsky

Part III Classic Piece: What Have We Learned About the Politics of Program Evaluation?

Part 1: The Development of the Policy Question

Part 2: The Translation of the Policy Question Into an Evaluation Question

Part 3: The Translation of the Evaluation Question Into the Evaluation Proper

Part 4: The Translation of the Evaluation Findings Into Policy Answers That Respond to the Original Policy Question

Part 5: Use of the Evaluation Findings and the Generation of New Policy Questions

What Have We Learned?

Jennifer Billman and Bagele Chilisia

Chapter 5: The Power and Politics of Knowledge Production in Program Evaluation: Funder, Methodological, and Pedagogical Colonialism

Introduction

Situating the Problem

A Path Forward: Decolonization Through Program Evaluation

Concluding Remarks

Rakesh Mohan

Chapter 6: Walking the Tightrope Between Independence and Responsiveness: Falling Off Is Not an Option

Evaluations Are Inherently Political

Chelimsky’s Five-Step Framework, Plus One, Is Needed to Manage Evaluation Politics

What Do People Familiar With the Policy Process and Evaluation Say About Evaluation Use and Politics?

Worthful Endeavor

Lori A. Wingate

Part III Reflection Guide

Check Your Understanding

Consider Your Own Work

Extend Your Learning

Part IV. Culturally responsive evaluation practice can lead to a more just society.

Ayesha S. Boyce

Part IV Introduction

Cultural Responsiveness and Justice as Core Evaluation Concepts

The Classic Writing on Cultural Responsiveness

Evolution of the Framing of Culture in Evaluation

This Book’s Contemporary Commentary on the Core Concept

Stafford Hood

Part IV Classic Piece: Responsive Evaluation Amistad Style: Perspectives of One African American Evaluator

End Notes

Grettel Arias Orozco

Chapter 7: En Busca de las Voces Latinas in CRE: Reflections From a Program Evaluation Latina

Introduction

Rethinking the Language and Terminologies

Complexity and Diversity of Latino/a/e/x Cultures

Promoting Awareness and Representation of Latino/a/e/x Evaluators

Deja Taylor, Sojourner White, Superior Murphy, Radaya Ellis, and monique liston

Chapter 8: Black Methodologies for Black Evaluators

Evaluator Connection to Hood

Intro to Positionality

Culturally Responsive Evaluation (CRE)

Equitable Evaluation Framework (EEF)

Afrofuturist Evaluation (AFE)

Conclusion

Ayesha S. Boyce

Part IV Reflection Guide

Check Your Understanding

Consider Your Own Work

Extend Your Learning

Part V. Evaluation’s value is realized through its use and influence.

Ayesha S. Boyce

Part V Introduction

Use as a Core Evaluation Concept

The Classic Writing on Use

Evolution of the Framing of Use in Evaluation

Michael Quinn Patton

Part V Classic Piece: Utilization-Focused Evaluation

This Book’s Contemporary Commentary on the Core Concept

Utilization-Focused Evaluation

Jeremy Acree and Jill Chouinard

Chapter 9: Aims, Aspirations, and Consequences: Problematization at the Intersection of Culture and Evaluation Use

Utilization in Practice: An Empirical Perspective

Institutional Ethnography and Problematics

Intersections of Use and Culture

Looking Forward

Caitlin A. Blaser Mapitsa and Mine Pabari

Chapter 10: Beyond the Project: Using Evaluation to Reimagine the Future in Africa

Use and a Changing World

Evolutions in Use

Evaluation and Use in Africa

Shifting From Useful to Transformative

Conclusion

Ayesha S. Boyce

Part V Reflection Guide

Check Your Understanding

Consider Your Own Work

Extend Your Learning

Part VI. Evaluation is a reflexive practice: Evaluation can and should be evaluated.

Lori A. Wingate

Part VI Introduction

Metaevaluation as a Core Evaluation Concept

The Classic Writing on Metaevaluation

Evolution of the Concept and Practice of Metaevaluation

This Book’s Contemporary Commentary on the Core Concept

Daniel L. Stufflebeam

Part VI Classic Piece: Metaevaluation

Background and Problems

A Conceptualization of Metaevaluation

Summary

Paidamoyo Chikate, Satlaj Dighe, Padma Kannan, and John M. LaVelle

Chapter 11: Revisiting Metaevaluation Through the Perspectives of the Global South

Metaevaluation’s Origin and Development

Sociopolitical Contexts of the Global South

Reimagining Metaevaluation in the Global South

Summation

Tiffany Tovey and Libby Smith

Chapter 12: A New Story for Metaevaluation

What Is Metaevaluation?

What Is Reflective Practice?

Reflective Practice and Reflexivity in Evaluation

Old Story–New Story

Reconceptualizing Metaevaluation for the New Story

Conclusion and Call to Action

Lori A. Wingate

Part VI Reflection Guide

Check Your Understanding

Consider Your Own Work

Extend Your Learning

References

Author Index

Subject Index

Did not match course syllabus content and criteria

Dr Pär Widén

Faculty of Education & Society, Malmo University

April 11, 2025

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