Theories Bridging Ethnography and Evaluation

The fusion of ethnography and evaluation addresses a longstanding need to integrate issues of culture in a systematic way into evaluation theory and practice. This fusion strengthens evaluators’ potential to contribute to the transformation of education programs, systems and policies towards increased justice and cultural responsiveness. The focus on intersectionality, international, and national understandings of ethnography’s contribution to a more culturally responsive approach to evaluation provides the reader with an expansive opportunity to uncover oppressive cultural beliefs and norms, challenge asymmetric power structures, and address issues of discrimination and injustice in pursuit of positive changes in schools. The contributing authors share their personal and professional experiences in ways that make the cost of failure to transform educational systems more tangible and heart-rending.

-- Donna M Mertens, Professor Emeritus, Gallaudet University

This collection of empirical and methodological challenges to ethnography and evaluation will push researchers and systems of evaluation to rethink harmful, generalized, and overly-static modes of evaluation. This volume shows the importance of centering community knowledge, local expertise, and more nuanced approaches to evaluation and ethnography. This is a must-read for critical ethnographers and those committed to community-rooted, sustainable and critical evaluation practices in education.

-- Professor Jennifer Keys Adair, The University of Texas at Austin,