Evaluation in Action

Jody L. Fitzpatrick is Director of the Master's in Public Administration Program and an Associate Professor with the School of Public Affairs at the University of Colorado Denver. She is the author of Program Evaluation: Alternative Approaches and Practical Guidelines (Third Edition, Pearson, 2004; with James Sanders and Blaine Worthen). Dr. Fitzpatrick's interests include evaluation practice, ethics, and education policy. Dr. Fitzpatrick has many years of experience conducting evaluations, first as an internal evaluator in Appalachia and New York and then as an external evaluator in a variety of settings. She has published in Evaluation Review, American Journal of Evaluation, and New Directions for Evaluation and has served on the Board of the American Evaluation Association and as Associate Editor of the American Journal of Evaluation. Christina A. Christie is a Professor and Head of the Social Research Methodology Division in the Graduate School of Education and Information Studies at University of California, Los Angeles. Christie specializes in educational and social policy and program evaluation. Her research focuses on the factors and conditions that influence evaluation practice in an effort to strengthen our understanding of evaluation as a method for facilitating social change. She has published extensively and her work appears in journals such American Journal of Evaluation, Children and Youth Services Review, Evaluation and Program Planning, Studies in Educational Evaluation and Teachers College Record. Christie has served on the board of the American Evaluation Association (AEA) and is the former Chair of the Theories of Evaluation Division and the Research on Evaluation Division of AEA. Currently, she is an Associate Editor for the American Journal of Evaluation. Melvin M. Mark is professor of psychology at the Pennsylvania State University, where he also is Head of the Department of Psychology. He has served as President of the American Evaluation Association (AEA). He was Editor of the American Journal of Evaluation (and is now Editor Emeritus). A social psychologist, Dr. Mark has wide ranging interests related to the theory, methodology and practice of evaluation, as well as a general interest in the application of social psychology to evaluation and applied social research. Dr. Mark's awards include the American Evaluation Association's Lazarsfeld Award for Contributions to Evaluation Theory. He is author of more than 125 articles and chapters in books. Among his books are Evaluation: An integrated framework for understanding, guiding, and improving policies and programs and the co-edited volumes Social Science and Social Policy; SAGE Handbook of Evaluation; What Counts as Credible Evidence in Applied Research and Evaluation Practice; Evaluation in Action: Interviews with Expert Evaluators; and Social Psychology and Evaluation.

Preface Chapter 1: Evaluation and Its Practice: Some Key Considerations and Choices Part I: Traditional Evaluations with a Primary purpose of Judging Merit and Worth Chapter 2: The Evaluation of GAIN: A Welfare-to-Work Program in California, An Interview with James A. Riccio Chapter 3: Evaluation of the Natural Resources Leadership Program, 1995 through 1998, An Interview with Jennifer C. Greene Chapter 4: The Evaluation of the Ft. Bragg and Stark County Systems of Care for Children and Adolescents, An Interview with Len Bickman Part II: Evaluations with a Focus on Description Chapter 5: The Evaluation of the Stanford Teacher Education Program (STEP), An Interview with David Fetterman Chapter 6: The Evaluation of the Homeless Families Program, An Interview with Debra J. Rog Chapter 7: The Council for School Performance: Performance Reports for Georgia Schools, An Interview with Gary T. Henry Part III: Evaluations with an Emphasis on Program Planning and Organizational Development Chapter 8: Evaluation of the Special Education Program at the Anoka-Hennepin School District, An Interview with Jean A. King Chapter 9: Evaluation of the Work and Health Initiative with a Focus on Winning New Jobs, An Interview with Stewart I. Donaldson Chapter 10: Developing an Evaluation System for the Corporate Education Development and Training (CEDT) Department at Sandia National Laboratories, An Interview with Hallie Preskill Chapter 11: Evaluation of the Colorado Healthy Communities Initiative, An Interview with Ross Conner Part IV: Evaluations Concerning Cultural Competence Chapter 12: Evaluation of the Fun with Books Program, An Interview with Katrina Bledsoe Chapter 13: Evaluation of Godfrey?s Children Center in Tanzania, An Interview with Allan Wallis and Victor Dukay Part V: Analysis, Interpretations, and Conclusions Chapter 14: Exemplars? Choices: What Do These Cases Tell Us About Practice? Chapter 15: Analyzing the Practice of Evaluation: What Do these Cases Tell Us About Theory? Appendix I: Other Categories for the Interviews About the Authors

"A timely introduction to how evaluators go about the business of evaluation. Evaluation in Action will be useful for evaluators at all stages, experienced and new, and for students." -- Carol J. Evans "As one of the few collections of evaluator applied reasoning and practical insights, this volume is a useful resource for students, practitioners,and theorists/methodologists who want to better understand how evaluators think in practice and make decisions; how flow of workand events arising in the field shape the nature and use of evaluation theory, method, and practice." -- Leigh M. Tolley and Nick L. Smith * The Canadian Journal of Program Evaluation *