Applying the Collaborative Approaches to Evaluation (CAE) Principles in an Educational Evaluation
Reflections from the Field
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.3138/cjpe.53185Keywords:
CAE principles, collaborative evaluation, education, evaluation practice, reflective practiceAbstract
This practice note presents reflections on the application of the collaborative approaches to evaluation (CAE) principles used as a guide in planning, implementing, and managing a collaborative evaluation in a higher educational setting. The reflection is based the evaluation of a technology integration program intended to enhance K–12 teacher preparation in a school of education at a public university in the southeast United States. The evaluation was conducted during a one-year period by the author and a diverse team of novice and experienced evaluators. Discussion of the principles and their influence on collaborative practice are based on an analysis of evaluator reflections, meetings with stakeholders, and a culminating interview with stakeholders that were recorded and documented throughout the evaluation. Key takeaways from our reflection and analysis highlight the ways in which the CAE principles encourage reflection, the emphasis of some principles based on the specificities of context, and challenges applying the principles that emerged throughout the evaluation.
References
Buckley, J., Archibald, T., Hargraves, M., & Trochim, W. M. (2015). Defining and teaching evaluative thinking: Insights from research on critical thinking. American Journal of Evaluation, 36 (3), 375–388. https://doi.org/10.1177/1098214015581706
Chouinard, J. A., Boyce, A. S., Hicks, J., Jones, J., Long, J., Pitts, R., & Stockdale, M. (2017). Navigating theory and practice through evaluation fieldwork: Experiences of novice evaluation practitioners. American Journal of Evaluation, 38(4), 493–506. https://doi.org/10.1177/1098214016667582
Chouinard, J. A., Cavanaugh, S. A., Adetogun, A., & Baker, K. (Forthcoming). A view from the classroom: A reflection on the use of the CAE principles in an instructional setting. In J. B. Cousins (Ed.), Global test drive of principles for collaborative approaches to evaluation (CAE). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
Cornwall, A., & Jewkes, R. (1995). What is participatory research? Social Science Medicine, 41 (12), 1667–1676. https://doi.org/10.1016/0277-9536(95)00127-s
Cousins, J. B. (Ed.). (Forthcoming). Global test drive of principles for collaborative approaches to evaluation (CAE). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
Cousins, J. B., & Chouinard, J. A. (2012). Participatory evaluation up close. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing, Inc.
Cousins, J. B., & Earl, L. M. (1992). The case for participatory evaluation. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 14 (2), 397–418. https://doi.org/10.2307/1164283
Cousins, J. B., & Whitmore, E. (1998). Framing participatory evaluation. New Directions for Evaluation, 1998 (80), 5–23. https://doi.org/10.1002/ev.1114
Cousins, J. B., Whitmore, E., & Shulha, L. (2013). Arguments for a common set of principles for collaborative inquiry in evaluation. American Journal of Evaluation, 34(1), 7–22. https://doi.org/10.1177/1098214012464037
Fetterman, D. M. (2001). Foundations of empowerment evaluation. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE. King, J. A. (2005). Participatory evaluation. In S. Mathison (Ed.), Encyclopedia of evaluation (pp. 292–296). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781412950558
Mertens, D. M. (2009). Transformative research and evaluation. New York, NY: Guilford Press. O’Sullivan, R. (Ed.). (2004). Practicing evaluation: A collaborative approach. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
O’Sullivan, R. (2012). Collaborative Evaluation within a framework of stakeholder-oriented evaluation approaches. Evaluation and Program Planning, 35(4), 518–522. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evalprogplan.2011.12.005. Medline: 22364849
Patton, M. Q. (2011). Developmental evaluation: Applying complexity concepts to enhance innovation and use. New York, NY: Guilford Press.
Rodríguez-Campos, L. (2005). Collaborative evaluations: A step-by-step model for the evaluator. Tamarac, FL: Llumina Press.
Rodríguez-Campos, L. (2012). Advances in collaborative evaluation. Evaluation and Pro-gram Planning, 35 (4), 523–528. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evalprogplan.2011.12.006. Medline: 22377419
Schon, D. (1983). The reflective practitioner: How professionals think in action. New York, NY: Routledge.
Searle, M. J., Merchant, S., Chalas, A., & Lam, C. Y. (2017). A case study of the guiding principles for collaborative approaches to evaluation in a developmental evaluation context. Canadian Journal of Program Evaluation, 31(3), 350–373. https://doi.org/10.3138/cjpe.328
Shulha, L. M., Whitmore, E., Cousins, J. B., Gilbert, N., & al Hudib, H. (2016). Introducing evidence-based principles to guide collaborative approaches to evaluation: Results of an empirical process. American Journal of Evaluation, 37(2), 193–215. https://doi.org/10.1177/1098214015615230
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2019 Jeremy Acree
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Authors contributing to The Canadian Journal of Program Evaluation agree to release their articles under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 (CC-BY-NC) license. This licence allows this work to be copied, distributed, remixed, transformed, and built upon for any purpose provided that appropriate attribution is given, a link is provided to the license, and changes made were indicated.
Authors retain copyright of their work and grant the journal right of first publication.
Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
