What principles should guide an empowerment evaluation? And how can these principles actually be put into practice? One of the primary tasks in an empowerment evaluation (EE) is to increase the capacity of program stakeholders to plan, implement, and evaluate their own programs. This book presents the most current formulation of the 10 principles of EE and provides professionals and students with the tools to put these principles into practice. Through case studies of diverse evaluation projects--including community health foundation initiatives, school district programs, and a $15 million corporate program aimed at bridging the digital divide--the founder and leading proponents of EE clarify key concepts and discuss important lessons learned. Coverage includes how to balance program improvement efforts with accountability requirements; how EE can be used to guide standards-based work; how to use EE in a learning organization; the differences among empowerment, collaborative, and participatory evaluation; and much more.

This outstanding group of evaluators from academia, government, nonprofits, and foundations explores empowerment evaluation, a method for using evaluation concepts, techniques, and findings to foster improvement and self-determination. Empowerment Evaluation begins with an in-depth examination of this type of evaluation as it has been adopted in academic and foundation settings. The book then focuses on the various contexts in which empowerment evaluation is conducted, ranging from resistant environments (in which significant effort is required to move from passive-compliance orientations) to responsive environments (that already have a tradition of self-determination and community organizing). Interesting highlights concerning the role empowerment evaluation has played in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' substance abuse prevention programs are detailed throughout the book. The contributors also provide down-to-earth tools and technical assistance needed to conduct empowerment evaluation. This volume concludes with themes that emerge from the chapters and recommendations concerning next steps. This serves to strengthen the links between empowerment evaluation and community capacity building. empow

" This timely addition to a new genre of evaluation methodology eschews the objectivity of an external evaluation in favor of internal value-driven assessments that advance the goal of self-improvement through self-determination. Fetterman offers down-to-earth, clearly written descriptions and explanations of an approach that reconciles the contingencies of organizational practice with the standards and principles of evaluation accountability. He adroitly bridges the gap between the subjectivity of self-evaluation and the objectivity of external evaluation by showing with case examples and detailed methods, forms, and narrative why empowerment evaluation extends the reach of standard evaluation practice." --Dennis Mithaug, Teacher's College, Columbia UniversityWhat is empowerment evaluation? When is it the most appropriate approach to use in an evaluation? How can it best be implemented? Aimed at demystifying empowerment evaluation, the book shows readers when to use this form of evaluation and how to more effectively use its three steps (developing a mission statement; taking stock by identifying and prioritizing the most significant program activities; and, charting a course for future strategies to accomplish program goals). Fetterman also illustrates the steps with four case examples, ranging from hospital to educational settings. In addition, he covers: how to use empowerment evaluation to meet the standards developed by the Joint Committee on Standards for Educational Evaluation; the caveats and concerns about the use of empowerment evaluation; the relationship between collaborative, participatory, stakeholder, and utilization-focused evaluation with empowermentevaluation; the role of the Internet in disseminating empowerment evaluation; and, an analysis of the strengths, weaknesses, and conditions of empowerment evaluation. This book will guide evaluators exploration of their roles

From the founder of empowerment evaluation (EE), a framework uniquely suited to advancing social justice causes, this book explains the theories, principles, and steps of conducting EE from scratch or within a preexisting evaluation or work plan. David M. Fetterman describes how EE enables program planners and participants to define their mission or purpose, take stock of how well they are doing, and plan for the future to achieve self-determined goals. EEs of two large programs (Feeding America and USAID/REACH) are discussed in depth; other EE case examples address such topics as raising test scores in impoverished and rural schools and bridging the digital divide in communities of color. User-friendly features include chapters on conducting EE remotely and frequently asked questions, illuminating sidebars, and glossaries of acronyms and concepts/terms.

"Collaborative, participatory, and empowerment evaluations are stakeholder involvement approaches to evaluation. They address concerns about relevance, trust, and use in evaluation. They also build capacity and respond to pressing evaluation needs in the global community. The chapters in this book are designed to help further distinguish one approach from another. The essentials of collaborative, participatory, and empowerment evaluation are presented in separate chapters in order to help practitioners compare and contrast approaches. In addition, case examples are used to illustrate what each approach looks like in practice"--

Empowerment Evaluation in the Digital Villages analyzes a $15 million community change initiative designed to bridge the digital divide in East Palo Alto, East Baltimore, and San Diego. Involving a partnership between Hewlett-Packard, Stanford University, and three ethnically diverse communities, this initiative enabled its constituencies to build their own technology-oriented businesses, improve their education systems, and improve their economic health. While examining this large-scale, multi-site case, Fetterman highlights the potential for empowerment evaluation to build local capacity and sustain improvements within communities. He provides deep insights into key steps in empowerment evaluation by exploring the way that each of these phases took place in the digital villages. Additionally, the text provides evaluators with real-world stories and practical advice from the front lines. The Digital Village case also demonstrates the social value of combining corporate philanthropy, academic prowess, and community empowerment—highlighting the role of evaluation in this process.

“The emphasis on minority populations has caught my attention and sustained my loyalty. Donna is so sensitive in exploring those issues, a first in a text for that class and a welcome addition.” —Nick Eastmond, Utah State University Focused on discussing what is considered to be “good” research, this text explains quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods in detail, incorporating the viewpoints of various research paradigms into the descriptions of these methods. Approximately 60% of the content in this Third Edition is new, with lots of fresh examples. Key Features Postpositivist, constructivist, transformative, and pragmatic paradigms discussed Conducting research in culturally complex communities emphasized throughout A step-by-step overview of the entire research process provided New to this Edition New coverage on how to write a literature review and plan a dissertation New pedagogy including “Extending Your Thinking” throughout This is a core or supplemental text for research courses in departments of education, psychology, sociology, social work and other human-services disciplines.

Evaluation Roots: A Wider Perspective of Theorists’ Views and Influences, Second Edition provides an updated examination of current evaluation theories and traces their evolution. Marvin C. Alkin shows how theories build upon theories and how the theories are related to each other. The way in which these evaluation "roots" grew to form a tree helps to provide a better understanding of evaluation theory. In addition to the editor's overview, the book contains essays by leading evaluation theorists. In these pieces, the evaluators comment on their own development and give their views of their placement upon the tree. **All royalties from sales of this book are donated to support the AEA Research on Evaluation Student Award.**

"Pedagogy is the study of teaching. Pedagogy of evaluation entails examining how and what evaluation teaches. This volume is inspired by and builds on the works of Paulo Freire, especially his classic, Pedagogy of the Oppressed. Freire understood and taught that all interactions between and among people are pedagogical; something is always being taught, conveyed, and proselytized. It follows that all evaluation approaches constitute a pedagogy of some kind. All evaluation teaches something"--Page [4] of cover.

In this valuable resource, well-known scholars present a detailed understanding of contemporary theories and practices in the fields of measurement, assessment, and evaluation, with guidance on how to apply these ideas for the benefit of students and institutions. Bringing together terminology, analytical perspectives, and methodological advances, this second edition facilitates informed decision-making while connecting the latest thinking in these methodological areas with actual practice in higher education. This research handbook provides higher education administrators, student affairs personnel, institutional researchers, and faculty with an integrated volume of theory, method, and application.