Emergent Developmental Evaluation Developments

Background: Developmental Evaluation (DE) continues to develop. After reviewing the niche and history of DE, this article identifies five new and emergent purposes for DE to add to the original five – and forecasts future developments for diverse, innovative, and adaptive DE applications. An extended example of DE in supporting pivoting in the pandemic illustrates DE as adaptation to crisis as distinct from supporting social innovation. Purpose: To update DE. Setting: Global. Data Collection and Analysis: Not applicable. Findings: The applications and uses of DE have expanded beyond the original framing. Keywords: adaptation; developmental evaluation; pivot; social innovatio

The Birth and Adaptation of Evaluation Theories

Background: Evaluation theories as we know them are prescriptions by prominent evaluators about what they believe to be an appropriate way to conduct  evaluations. How do these prescriptions come about? In this paper we examine the various influences on the creation and subsequent modification of these prescribed evaluation theories. Inquiry into evaluation theories has a long history. What is new is inquiry into the evolution of theories.This makes theory formulation dynamic rather than static. Influences identified by Alkin in a National Society for the Study of Education yearbook (1989) serve as an initial guide to this inquiry. An examination of Michael Q. Patton's writings and shaping experiences provides further case study insights about the evolution of his utilization-focused evaluation theory and its offshoots. Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to gain further understanding about the way in which evaluation theories are developed, evolve, and take new directions, and the influences that shape the theorists' understandings and prescriptions. Setting: Interview discussion with Michael Q. Patton and synthesis of interview data. Intervention: Not applicable. Research design: Not applicable. Data collection & analysis: Not applicable. Findings: Factors that have influenced Michael Q. Patton’s initial  theory development as well as subsequent modifications, adaptations, and offshoots offer insights into the connection between personal history and professional perspective. Specifically, these factors were: early personal experiences, professional training, interaction with professional colleagues, field evaluation experiences, interaction with non-evaluation academic colleagues and research conducted by Patton. Keywords: evaluation theory; theory; utilization-focused evaluation; developmental evaluation; principles-focused evaluation

The 2009 Claremont Debates: the Promise and Pitfalls of Utilization-focused and Empowerment Evaluation

Background: Hundreds of evaluators visit the Claremont Colleges in southern California each year to discuss a wide range of topics related to improving the quality of evaluation practice. Debates between thought leaders in the field have been one of the most popular and informative ways to advance understanding about how best to practice evaluation in contemporary times. Purpose: The purpose of this article is to provide a written transcript of the 2009 Claremont Evaluation Debates. The first debate is between Michael Quinn Patton and Michael Scriven on the promise and pitfalls of utilization-focused evaluation. The second debate is between David Fetterman, Michael Quinn Patton, and Michael Scriven on the promise and pitfalls of empowerment evaluation. Setting: The debates occurred at the Claremont Graduate University on August 23-24, 2009. Several hundred evaluators from around the world also viewed and participated in the debates via a live webcast

Evaluative Thinking in Practice: Implications for Evaluation from Paulo Freire's Work in Guinea-Bissau

Background: Evaluative thinking is rigorous analysis of evidence and reasoning to inform judgments of merit, worth, value, significance, and utility. Although formal concepts and definitions for evaluative thinking have only emerged recently, its practice has been around for many years. In-depth historical case studies of international evaluations using evaluative thinking principles are rare, especially the ones reported by those who were involved a half-century ago. Purpose: This article describes little-known but historically significant educational reform initiative in Guinea Bissau (West-Africa) in the 1970s supported by a group led by Paulo Freire, examining what occurred through the lens of evaluative thinking. Setting: In 1975, Freire and the Idac team were invited to develop a national adult literacy campaign in Guinea Bissau. Freire was already well known for his revolutionary ideas in “Pedagogy of the Oppressed.” Intervention: Idac team supported the government to adopt Freire’s education and action approach comprising three core strategies: (i) critically understand reality, (ii) conduct scientific studies and (iii) application of the new knowledge. While Freire and four senior members of Idac’s team visited the country every three months, two other members lived there for four years. The decision was to invest in experimental pilot projects while reforming what was possible within the existing traditional school curricula. Research Design:  The authors conducted a retrospective developmental evaluation exemplifying what can be learned by examining past events through contemporary concepts. Data Collection and Analysis: In-depth interviews were conducted with key informants, especially Claudius Ceccon (one of the authors) who was a senior member of the Idac team working with Paulo Freire in Guinea Bissau. Also, several project original documents and relevant publications were reviewed. Thick description and content analysis were used to revisit that educational reform and examine its implications for evaluative thinking. Findings: Even though Freire’s most prominent ideas were developed before evaluation was considered as an established field, his approach of dialectic inquiry, critical reflection and taking action has influenced and still influences many leading scholars and practitioners within our (trans)discipline. While Freire did not use the phrase “evaluative thinking,” his process of critical engagement with local people to analyze and understand their situation and take action based on their reflections manifests core elements of what today would be considered embedded evaluative thinking. In political reforms around the world, the retrospective evaluation of what happened in Guinea Bissau reminds us of the importance of evaluative thinking and reflective dialogue – and the fragility of both in the face of political polarization and changes in leadership. Keywords: Paulo Freire; evaluative thinking; developmental evaluation; retrospective studies; Guinea Bissau

Understanding the independent dancer: roles, development and success

Little research has been published about the varied role of the independent dancer. The aim of this study was to provide insight into the work independent dancers undertake and how their careers change over time. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 14 independent dancers. Content analysis revealed that the dancers had multifaceted careers that relied on both formal and informal activities, and varied according to three distinct stages (early, middle, late). The experiences reported by the dancers indicated that the realities of the independent dancer's role are not sufficiently recognised or supported within the industry

“Economic man” in cross-cultural perspective: Behavioral experiments in 15 small-scale societies

Researchers from across the social sciences have found consistent deviations from the predictions of the canonical model of self-interest in hundreds of experiments from around the world. This research, however, cannot determine whether the uniformity results from universal patterns of human behavior or from the limited cultural variation available among the university students used in virtually all prior experimental work. To address this, we undertook a cross-cultural study of behavior in ultimatum, public goods, and dictator games in a range of small-scale societies exhibiting a wide variety of economic and cultural conditions. We found, first, that the canonical model – based on self-interest – fails in all of the societies studied. Second, our data reveal substantially more behavioral variability across social groups than has been found in previous research. Third, group-level differences in economic organization and the structure of social interactions explain a substantial portion of the behavioral variation across societies: the higher the degree of market integration and the higher the payoffs to cooperation in everyday life, the greater the level of prosociality expressed in experimental games. Fourth, the available individual-level economic and demographic variables do not consistently explain game behavior, either within or across groups. Fifth, in many cases experimental play appears to reflect the common interactional patterns of everyday life

Corruption and Conflagration: (In)Justice and Protest in Bucharest after the Colectiv Fire

The fire in the Colectiv nightclub in Bucharest, Romania in October 2015 led to sustained, nationwide protests that forced the resignation of the government. These protests drew on deep-seated feelings of injustice due to rampant corruption among the political elite. The capital city location provided an opening for spontaneous actions to present claims to power holders. We aim to identify how the urban space was used to initiate and scale up a meaningful challenge to the governing system by examining the evolution of these protests. Through analysis of interviews with protest participants and nonparticipants resident in Bucharest, we identify factors that mobilized participants and how these built and reinforced the developing movement. The findings emphasize the importance of (capital) cities in incubating social movements, by providing spaces to organize challenges to institutional actors from the local to the national level