Catálogo de publicaciones - revistas

<jats:p> The Nuremberg Code established ethics for the involvement of humans in research, initially in the area of health and medical research. While aspects of the code have been extended to the social and behavioral sciences, program evaluation does not always implement those policies, procedures, and protocols for protecting research participants, particularly children. Drawing on a children's rights framework and highlighting participatory and trauma-informed approaches, this article explores the areas of consent, assent, cultural considerations, protocol/data collection procedure review, and participant safety. It proposes recommendations that fit a range of evaluation settings and resource level. </jats:p>

<jats:p> “Lesson study” has garnered considerable attention from educational researchers and practitioners as a promising method for improving instruction. At its core, lesson study reflects a collaborative inquiry process, grounded in cycles of planning, enacting, and reflecting, that promotes teacher learning through active engagement in lesson refinement. In this article, we leverage lesson study as an exemplar case to foreground an examination and application of theory-based evaluation. We overview a novel evaluation framework contextualized to this multidimensional instructional program and draw out the contributions of theory-based evaluation to the study of program effects. To ground the description of this framework, we summarize representative findings from our ongoing evaluation of a lesson study-based instructional program and discuss processes for selecting, using, and managing evidence sources as well as determining causal strands supporting program outcomes. We conclude by discussing lessons learned and implications for theory-based evaluation of complex programs. </jats:p>

<jats:p> The field of evaluation has experienced greater professionalization in the areas of evaluator education and training. Growth in these areas included sensitivity to issues of diversity, with efforts to attract and retain evaluators of color. Currently, there is limited scholarship on navigating a world with more opportunity but still dealing with being Black. Motivated by our identities as Black evaluators, we explored the education, training and socialization concerns experienced by Black evaluators and the advice they would offer. Through content analysis of semi-structured interviews and the utilization of Critical Race Theory as a framework, we garnered advice to and from Black evaluators on how to (a) navigate the politics in evaluation; (b) engage in reflection and reflexivity; (c) network and collaborate; (d) mentor and bring others along the way; and (e) develop as a professional evaluator. We offer a synthesis of these findings in the discussion and articulate further implications. </jats:p>

<jats:p> Comparatively worse health outcomes persist for historically underserved populations relative to their more privileged peers due to systemic health inequities in the United States and worldwide. The relationship between preventable health differences and social injustice is salient, with recurring media coverage of viral outbreaks and televized court cases of police brutality bringing it to public attention. Rather than waiting for social determinants of health to be explicit in health interventions, an evaluator can use their interest in equity as an entry point. Similar equity-driven strategies were chosen in each case summary, resulting in capacity development, new community perspectives, and measurement of conditions supporting health equity. </jats:p>

<jats:p> This study aimed to develop and validate the Evaluator Competencies Assessment Tool (ECAT) Cultural Competencies Subscale, which measures cultural competence among evaluators. By addressing the scarcity of validated tools in this area, the study offers professionals a valuable resource to assess their strengths and areas for improvement. The subscale comprises 11 items rated on a seven-point Likert scale, derived from the American Evaluation Association (AEA) Evaluator Competencies. Validation involved a survey of 116 AEA members, employing multiple validity procedures. The subscale demonstrated excellent internal consistency (α=.96) and significant correlation with the Cultural Competence of Program Evaluators scale, confirming its convergent validity. However, the subscale's structural validity yielded mixed results, indicating the need for further exploration. Moreover, the demographic analysis highlighted underrepresentation of Asian and younger members. Overall, the ECAT Cultural Competencies Subscale shows promise for assessing cultural competency, but refinement of its factor structure and additional research are needed. </jats:p>

<jats:p> Recognition of the complexity of the world raises questions about new theories, methods, and capabilities for evaluation practice. Approaches originating in the systems sciences show promise; however, many require specialized expertise and resources. This article explores rich pictures as an accessible, low-resource method for facilitating sensemaking amid complexity. The method involves the free-hand drawing of a situation to richly illustrate what is happening and why using images, lines, and few words. The process and product are akin to elaborate childhood doodles, yet are remarkably powerful conveyors of tacit knowledge and issues, differing perspectives, and action possibilities. Drawing together methodological guidance, sensemaking theory, and an application with STEM higher education faculty, this article shows how rich pictures support sensemaking amid complexity and identifies potential applications and directions for research on the method. </jats:p>

<jats:p> In this reflective case, we examine the role and function of collaboration in use-oriented evaluation approaches. Reflecting on our experience evaluating a program that sought to integrate new technologies into K-12 teaching and pre-service teacher education, we found that the desire and pursuit of making evaluation useful can influence why, with whom, and how we choose to collaborate, in turn shaping the substance of our evaluative questions, methods, and findings. We structured our reflections using the Describe, Analyze, Theorize, Act model (Peters, 1991; Smith et al., 2015), a tool for systematically reflecting on evaluation situations and dilemmas to learn and refine future actions. Through this process, we uncovered both conceptual and practical implications regarding the relationship between use-oriented evaluation approaches and collaboration. </jats:p>