Evaluates the Carl Rogers Peace Project workshop held in Austria in 1985. Defines ways in which the workshop was unique. Elaborates on staff participation and the author's personal reactions. Concludes by discussing the distinctive role facilitators had in this workshop. (BR)

Judgments under uncertainty are often mediated by intuitive heuristics that are not bound by the conjunction rule of probability. Representativeness and availability heuristics can make a conjunction appear more probable than one of its constituents. Alternative interpretations of this conjunction fallacy are discussed and attempts to combat it…

An evaluation design is seen to ensure the presence of certain qualities in an evaluation; values and valued qualities permeate the evaluation design. Mechanisms for evaluations (in-process reviews, follow-up studies, etc.) are dealt with and familiarity with financial, managerial, and ethical procedures are stressed in the evaluation design. (CE)

The philosophies of House and Rawls are examined as they apply to evaluation practices. It is argued that the relevance of philosophy to evaluation is its sharpening of the sensitivity and intuitions of evaluators to issues of justice, not its ability to justify method. (JMF)

This keynote address argues that in order for baccalaureate and masters degree students to apply research to make better judgments and decisions in their life-affecting practice and in response to the information revolution, the helping professions need to redesign (from the bottom up) not overhaul (make a few changes in) the way research methods…

Qualitative evaluation can be used to facilitate change in the immediate higher education professional environment. This evaluation method enriches the collection and interpretation of data by involving all groups and persons who have a share in the problem. In contrast to qualitative research, qualitative evaluation assists in situation-specific…

Classification or category systems are important for defining and introducing new concepts, such as decision management/facilitative v judgmental evaluations. Furthermore, category systems can lead to a reexamination or restatement of views of evaluation. (CP)

Concepts of discrimination or judgment in modernism are problematized by postmodernism. The modernist search for timeless universal principles of practice must be replaced by postmodernist striving for situational subjectivity, based on critical self-awareness and tolerance of others' beliefs. (Author/SK)

States that freshmen college students are not developmentally ready to demonstrate higher-level thinking skills, particularly evaluation. Describes the Perry Scheme of intellectual and ethical development and Chickering's seven vectors of college student development as they assist faculty in comprehending the challenges freshmen face when…

When the term "problem" is defined as a task requiring analysis and reasoning toward a goal, it is seen that the performance of the problem solver is narrowly delimited by the domain, form, and complexity of the problem and the characteristics of the solver. Tenets of a unified theory of problem solving are discussed, concerning what the…

Many different courses are offered at the college level to promote critical thinking. Teachings in critical thinking without a proper reflection on methodological foundations can be useless. Reflection upon inductive and deductive methodologies of thinking is necessary to the development of critical thinking abilities. It must be remembered that…

Some of the most used, misused, and abused terms in contemporary education are the words "create,""creative," and "creativity." One way of understanding creativity is to reject the current practice of assuming that creative behavior is directly caused by some special kind of mental operation called "creative thinking." What can be accepted is the…

Problems arise when creativity is viewed in terms of personality or cognitive traits considered apart from products produced. The encouragement of high level achievement within particular disciplines and subject matter is suggested to develop creativity. (DF)

Evaluators usually have preconceptions about how decisions are made in social programs and how evaluation results will be used. This article demonstrates how an evaluator's choice of a decision-making model has significant impact on the conduct and fate of the research. (Author/CM)

It is widely believed that evaluations can deliver certain, definitive, and absolutely convincing assessments of social programs. It would be wise to insist only that evaluation findings be credible rather than certain, arguable rather than definite, and persuasive rather than absolutely convincing. (CJ)