ERIC Number: EJ1374492
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2023-Mar
Pages: 19
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1098-2140
EISSN: EISSN-1557-0878
Framing Evaluation in Reality: An Introduction to Ontologically Integrative Evaluation
American Journal of Evaluation, v44 n1 p90-108 Mar 2023
For over 30 years, calls have been issued for the western evaluation field to address implicit bias in its theory and practice. Although many in the field encourage evaluators to be culturally competent, ontological competence remains unaddressed. Grounded in an institutionalized distrust of non-western perspectives of reality and knowledge frameworks, this neglect threatens the validity, reliability, and usefulness of western designed evaluations conducted in non-western settings. To address this, I introduce Ontologically Integrative Evaluation (OIE), a new framework built upon ontological competence and six foundational ontological concepts: ontological fluidity, authenticity, validity, synthesis, justice, and vocation. Grounding evaluation in three ontological considerations--what there is, what is real, and what is fundamental--OIE systematically guides evaluators through a deep exploration of their own and others' ontological assumptions. By demonstrating the futility of evaluations grounded in a limited ontological worldview, OIE bridges the current divide between western and non-western evaluative thinking.
Descriptors: Program Evaluation, Evaluation Methods, Indigenous Knowledge, Phenomenology, Bias, World Views, Evaluative Thinking, Non Western Civilization, Models, Epistemology
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A