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ERIC Number: EJ984717
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2012-Dec
Pages: 13
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1098-2140
EISSN: N/A
The Complexity of Practice: Participant Observation and Values Engagement in a Responsive Evaluation of a Professional Development School Partnership
Freeman, Melissa; Hall, Jori N.
American Journal of Evaluation, v33 n4 p483-495 Dec 2012
All social and professional practices are historically situated, evolving forms of acting and interacting. Evaluation, as a practice, is shaped by and shapes the practice evaluated. This article contributes to responsive and values-engaged evaluation approaches by reflecting on the space where these two practices intersect. The evaluative task was to document the nature of a partnership between a university and school district and how that partnership was being carried out in the form of a professional development school. The authors focus on the role that participant observation, as an interactive and responsive form of engagement, played in the evaluation. Through two lenses--observing the partners and observing ourselves--the authors critically reflect on their decision-making processes, assessing their accomplishments and shortcomings. The authors conclude by considering how they might further their engagement as values-engaged evaluators in this context in ways that support the development of both the evaluators and the evaluand. (Contains 1 table and 3 notes.)
SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2814
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