Ulteriori informazioni
Klappentext Prior to 1995! there were fewer than half a dozen regional and national evaluation organizations around the world. Today there are more than fifty! attesting to a growing interest in the practice of program evaluation internationally. Many of these new organizations have undertaken efforts to develop their own standards or to modify existing sets--most typically! the Program Evaluation Standards of the Joint Committee on Standards for Educational Evaluation--for use in their own cultural context. Following two introductory chapters! one a conceptual overview and the second a history of the development and revisions of the Program Evaluation Standards! this issue documents standards development efforts in three different settings: Western Europe! Africa! and Australasia. In addition! because nongovernmental organizations and governments have entered the standard-setting business! other chapters describe standards development activities by the European Commission and CARE International. The content points to the challenge of formalizing standards for program evaluation given cross-cultural differences in values and to the continuing challenges related to implementing voluntary standards. This is the 104th issue of the quarterly journal New Directions for Evaluation. Zusammenfassung Following two introductory chapters! this issue documents standards development efforts in three different settings: Western Europe! Africa! and Australasia. It describes the standards development activities by the European Commission and CARE International. It also points to the challenge of formalizing standards for program evaluation. Inhaltsverzeichnis Editors' Notes (Craig Russon! Gabrielle Russon). 1. Evaluation Standards in an International Context (Arnold Love! Craig Russon). The authors present a definition of terms! analyze the standards debate that took place during the formation of the International Organization for Cooperation in Evaluation! and look to the future. 2. Background and History of the Joint Committee's Program Evaluation Standards (Donald B. Yarbrough! Lyn M. Shulha! Flora Caruthers). This chapter describes the zeitgeist that gave rise to modern program evaluation in general and to the creation of North American evaluation standards in particular. 3. The Development and Status of Evaluation Standards in Western Europe (Thomas Widmer). For many years! the European evaluation community did not recognize evaluation standards as a relevant tool for quality assurance. Since the early 1990s! however! discussion about evaluation standards has accelerated in Europe. 4. Data- and -Literature-Based Reflections on Western European Evaluation Standards and Practices (Wolfgang Beywl! Sandra Speer). The authors highlight a -Europe-wide empirical study on evaluation standards within one policy field! and then reflect on evaluation standards used at different administrative levels of the European Commission. 5. The Origin and Development of the African Evaluation Guidelines (Jean-Charles Rouge). The author describes the development of the African Evaluation Guidelines! giving special emphasis to the role of the African Evaluation Association. 6. National Evaluation Standards for Australia and New Zealand: Many Questions but Few Answers (Doug Fraser). From the author's perspective! contextual factors have shaped an environment in Australia and New Zealand that thus far has not been conducive to the profession's developing and advocating its own evaluation standards. 7. The CARE International Evaluation Standards (Jim Rugh). This chapter describes the efforts of a major nongovernmental organization! CARE International! to create a set of evaluation standards appropriate to its unique organizational culture. 8. Cross-Cutting Issues in International Standards Development (Craig Russon). The results of an informal analysis of this issue's chapters suggest that despite a proli...
