Monitoring and Evaluation in a Globalized Society

Brad Cousins, University of Ottawa

Ottawa, Canada

Communication Series: Session 1

Yaoundé, Cameroon

Oct. 1, 2010

Overview

• Educational evaluation in a global society

• Contemporary Trends in Canada– Professional designations for evaluators– Consortium of Universities for Evaluation

Education (CUEE)

Genres of Educational Evaluation• Role of science in educational evaluation• Educational evaluation and capacity

building• Educational evaluation as learning and

discovery• Educational evaluation in a political world

Globalization

EducationalPolicy & Practice

EducationalEvaluation

Figure 1: Educational evaluation in a globalized society

Globalization

• Interconnections• Drivers and accelerants• Homogenization• Consequences

Implications for educational policy and practice• New and more complex skills for

knowledge society• Neo-liberal economic political theory

and New Public Management (NPM)• Moral political discourse

Implications for educational evaluation• Globalization, educational policy and

practice, and evaluation• Direct globalization influences

Perf. meas./audit

MonitoringECB

Evaluation in apolitical world

Scientific eval.‘What works’ EBP

Evaluation as learningand discovery

What are the proper purposes for evaluation?• Government vs. governance• Consistency vs. diversity• Customer service vs public service• Apolitical assurance vs. social critique• Choice/value vs.

deliberation/contestation• Learning systems vs. learning

What roles should evaluators play?• Expanding competencies• Diversification of roles

– teacher– capacity builder – developer– advocates of diversity, democracy,

dialogue– facilitator

What evidence should count in evaluation?• NMP requirements and assumptions• Complexity of international comparisons• Mixed methods, epistemologically

appropriate methods• Fit with policy milieu?

How should evaluations be carried out to ensure validity?• Methodological territorialism• Essentiality of localness• Process data

How and when to involve stakeholders?• Voices of community in large scale?• Participation for what? Whom?• Democratic interests• Cross-cultural interests

How should evaluators meet demands for quality assurance?

• Increasing technical demands• Traditionalistic checks and balances• Training in the context of diversification

of role and competencies?

Contemporary Trends in Canada• Professional Designations for

Evaluators: Credentialed Evaluator– Having the necessary educational and

practical experiences to warrant professional recognition

Process• Drivers / identified needs (2005)• Consultation (2006-2007)

– membership, employers• Decision (2007, CES Council)• Development (2007-2009)• Implementation (2010)

Issues

• Controversy• Transparency• Democracy• Caution• Quality

Consortium of Universities for Evaluation Education • Initial meeting (Oct 2006)

– 11 selected universities• 2nd meeting (Feb 2008)

– Draft Business Plan• Formal launch (March 2008)

CUEE

• Goals• Principles• Implementation• Progress