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Quality
The notion of quality features prominently in contemporary discourse. Numerous ratings, rankings, metrics, auditing, accreditation, benchmarking, smileys, reviews, and international comparisons are all used regularly to capture quality. This book paves the way in exploring the socio-political implications of evaluative statements, with a specific focus on the contribution of the concept of quality to these processes. Drawing on perspectives from the history of ideas, sociology, political science and public management, Dahler-Larsen asks what is the role of quality, and more specifically quality inscriptions, such as measurement? What do they accomplish? And finally, as a consequence of all this, does the term quality make it possible to deal with public issues in a way that lives up to democratic standards? This cross-disciplinary book will be of interest to scholars and students across various fields, including sociology, social epistemology, political science, public policy, and evaluation.
The Evaluation Society
Evaluation—whether called by this name, quality assurance, audit, accreditation, or others—is an important social activity. Any organization that "lives in public" must now evaluate its activities, be evaluated by others, or evaluate others. What are the origins of this wave of evaluation? And, what worthwhile results emerge from it? The Evaluation Society argues that if we want to understand many of the norms, values, and expectations that we, sometimes unknowingly, bring to evaluation, we should explore how evaluation is demanded, formatted, and shaped by two great principles of social order: organization and society. With this understanding, we can more conscientiously participate in evaluation processes; better position ourselves to understand many of the mysteries, tensions, and paradoxes in evaluation; and use evaluation in a more informed way. After exploring the sociology and organization of evaluation in this landmark work, author Peter Dahler-Larsen concludes by discussing issues that are critical for the future of evaluation—as a discipline and a societal norm.
A Research Agenda for Evaluation
This unique Research Agenda addresses salient current issues in evaluation research, offering a broad perspective on the role of evaluation in society.
Casualties of Causality
This book offers a critique of the present status of the concept of causality in the social sciences. “The Causality Syndrome” consists of a belief in causal studies as more important than other studies, a narrow definition of causality, and rules of thumb regarding how to make causal claims. The book argues that the present dominance of this syndrome has considerable downsides and presents a challenge to social science. The book dissects the many interconnected ideas which undergird this syndrome and offers an intellectual home for advanced students, researchers and others who are concerned about the present dominance of The Causality Syndrome. The book critically discusses whether “c...
Fabricating Quality in Education
This book argues that data and their use constitute a form of governance of education. It highlights the ways in which education is steered and managed so that a European education policy space is ‘fabricated’ through data which travel across national systems, and which enter and restructure provision to make it measurable, comparable and governable.
Peer Review in an Era of Evaluation
This open access volume explores peer review in the scientific community and academia. While peer review is as old as modern science itself, recent changes in the evaluation culture of higher education systems have increased the use of peer review, and its purposes, forms and functions have become more diversified. This book put together a comprehensive set of conceptual and empirical contributions on various peer review practices with relevance for the scientific community and higher education institutions worldwide. Consisting of three parts, the editors and contributors examine the history, problems and developments of peer review, as well as the specificities of various peer review pract...
Casualties of Causality: Casualties Of Causality And Paths To The Future
This book offers a critique of the present status of the concept of causality in the social sciences. "The Causality Syndrome" consists of a belief in causal studies as more important than other studies, a narrow definition of causality, and rules of thumb regarding how to make causal claims. The book argues that the present dominance of this syndrome has considerable downsides and presents a challenge to social science. The book dissects the many interconnected ideas which undergird this syndrome and offers an intellectual home for advanced students, researchers and others who are concerned about the present dominance of The Causality Syndrome. The book critically discusses whether "causali...
Open to the Public
Open to the Public grows out of concern with evaluation in the public arena and the struggle to understand how best to use the information it generates. Many concepts and models of evaluation, how to undertake it, and how to make it more useful, were developed before government performance became of so much interest to the public. In fact, it is arguable that recent changes in the forms, shapes, structures, and media through which the information developed in the process of evaluation becomes public, require new ways of thinking about its role in society. What is the role of evaluative information in the public arena today? How, when, and under what circumstances does the actual use of evalu...
Evaluation Foundations Revisited
Evaluation examines policies and programs across every arena of human endeavor, from efforts to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS to programs that drive national science policy. Relying on a vast array of methods, from qualitative interviewing to econometrics, it is a "transdiscipline," as opposed to a formal area of academic study. Accounting for these challenges, Evaluation Foundations Revisited offers an introduction for those seeking to better understand evaluation as a professional field. While the acquisition of methods and methodologies to meet the needs of certain projects is important, the foundation of evaluative practice rests on understanding complex issues to balance. Evaluation Found...
Beyond the Tyranny of Testing
Providing detailed illustrations using cases from pioneering schools around the globe at both the primary and secondary level, this book demonstrates how a relational orientation to evaluation in education can enhance learning processes, foster students' engagement and vitality relationships, and elevate the evaluation of teaching and the school as a whole.
