Book chapter
The contractual, relational and theoretical dimensions of doing evaluation: Illustrations from evaluating the Victorian Tech Schools Initiative
Methodological approaches to STEM education research (Vol. 5) , pp.405-419
Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 1st
2024
Appears in Recent Faculty of Education Publications
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Abstract
Evaluation methodology draws on research methods to judge the outcomes of programs, while research is concerned with generating new knowledge. However, the lines between these two paradigms are becoming increasingly blurred through the adoption of co-design methodologies involving stakeholder groups and the adoption of evaluative thinking when generating evidence of education-based initiatives. This chapter describes the contractual, relational and theoretical dimensions of doing evaluation. We reflect on a four-year interactive and responsive evaluation of the Tech Schools Initiative for the Victorian Department of Education from 2019-2023, inclusive of years impacted by COVID-19. Methodologically, the evaluation design was complex, iterative and dynamic, employing mixed data collection and analytical methods. We explore how the methodology of this successful evaluation played out through changing contractual arrangements, the relational realities of working with different stakeholders, and the interplay with theory that we drew on and created. Insights that we have gleaned from conducting this evaluation as academic researchers are provided.
Details
- Title
- The contractual, relational and theoretical dimensions of doing evaluation: Illustrations from evaluating the Victorian Tech Schools Initiative
- Creators
- Linda Hobbs - Deakin UniversityGenée Marks - Deakin UniversityGeorge Aranda - Deakin UniversityPeta J. White - Deakin UniversityJohn Cripps Clark - Deakin UniversitySeamus Delaney - Deakin UniversityRussell Tytler - Deakin UniversityChris Speldewinde - Deakin University
- Publication Details
- Methodological approaches to STEM education research (Vol. 5) , pp.405-419
- Publisher
- Cambridge Scholars Publishing; Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
- Edition
- 1st
- Identifiers
- 991013355972602368
- Copyright
- © 2024 by Peta J. White, Russell Tytler, Joseph Paul Ferguson, John Cripps Clark and contributors.
- Academic Unit
- Faculty of Education
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Book chapter