Power in and of evaluation - A framework of analysis

This article develops a framework for enhancing understanding and exploring both how power manifests in the evaluation process, and the power of evaluation in relation to public policy and democratic governance. Power is conceived as a multifaceted and dynamic phenomenon that manifests, permeates, and affects evaluation in many ways. The article demonstrates how the framework can be applied to an evaluation of a Swedish teacher-training program. The tentative analysis shows how the commissioner’s power-over the evaluators becomes evident when it cannot induce the evaluators to do what it wants them to do and manifests itself as constitutive power when, for example, helping shape the notion of what valid knowledge is. The power of the evaluation manifests itself as supporting key policy and governance functions

Evaluation in Local School Governance : a framework of analysis

This article develops a conceptual framework for exploring the role and consequences of evaluation at the local level of school governance. It also provides a frame of reference for the articles in this special issue on the role of evaluation in local school governance in Sweden. It consists of key concepts, three models of decentralised governance (state model, local government model and multi-actor model of governance) and four types of evaluation (indicator-based monitoring and evaluation systems; stand-alone evaluations; synthesis studies; and informal, occasional or everyday evaluations). Local school governance refers to governance that occurs in a municipality and in a quasi-market where local school actors govern and influence schooling and education. It includes the efforts of actors and institutions to govern and influence matters such as school policy, education, school climate and school safety. Evaluation is used as a generic term that refers to, for example, evaluation, inspection, quality assurance, ranking and to both stand-alone evaluations and evaluation systems. The article briefly demonstrates how the framework can be applied in an analysis of the role of evaluation at the local level of school governance by providing an example, and discusses the framework’s advantages and limitations.Utvärderingars konsekvenser för grundskolans prakti

Den dolda utvärderingspolitiken

The main relations between evaluation and politics are, in this article, explored and discussed in relation to three ideal types. The types differ regarding the political-administrative functions of evaluations, the epistemology, and the implications for democracy. At present, Swedish evaluation policy is partly veiled because there is no open debate concerning the relation between evaluation and politics. The analysis suggests that the dominant evaluation policy is closest to the integrated ideal type, that is, the goal is to completely adjust evaluation to political needs