A Critical-Historical Review of Program Evaluation and the Emerging Motif ‘Evaluation Science’

Background: It is important to distinguish between evaluation as an inherent, automatic, affective process and Program Evaluation (Evaluation, with capitalised ‘E’) as an institution, and equally important to consider what a good understanding of evaluation tells us about Evaluation. Evaluation is...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: William James Fear
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: The Evaluation Center at Western Michigan University 2020-07-01
Series:Journal of MultiDisciplinary Evaluation
Online Access:https://journals.sfu.ca/jmde/index.php/jmde_1/article/view/627
_version_ 1797812705814380544
author William James Fear
author_facet William James Fear
author_sort William James Fear
collection DOAJ
description Background: It is important to distinguish between evaluation as an inherent, automatic, affective process and Program Evaluation (Evaluation, with capitalised ‘E’) as an institution, and equally important to consider what a good understanding of evaluation tells us about Evaluation. Evaluation is an established social institution whose modern roots can be traced back to 16th century France. Since the early 1900s the institution has developed within and across a range of scientific disciplines with interests in perceived social problems and efforts to resolve the said problems. This can be demonstrated objectively by the number and scale of relevant publications within relevant disciplines. This, in turn, helps us understand more about Evaluation as an institution. Set in this context is the question of Evaluation Science: is this simply a fashionable institutional motif or is it a potential new era for Evaluation? Purpose: Commentary on the history and development of Program Evaluation. Setting: Not applicable. Intervention: Not applicable. Research design: Not applicable. Data collection & analysis: Not applicable. Findings: Not applicable. Keywords: program evaluation; evaluation; history; evaluation science.
first_indexed 2024-03-13T07:41:20Z
format Article
id doaj.art-0f0ddf6e442246f486eaa81d7c42a827
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 1556-8180
language English
last_indexed 2024-03-13T07:41:20Z
publishDate 2020-07-01
publisher The Evaluation Center at Western Michigan University
record_format Article
series Journal of MultiDisciplinary Evaluation
spelling doaj.art-0f0ddf6e442246f486eaa81d7c42a8272023-06-03T06:57:39ZengThe Evaluation Center at Western Michigan UniversityJournal of MultiDisciplinary Evaluation1556-81802020-07-01163510.56645/jmde.v16i35.627A Critical-Historical Review of Program Evaluation and the Emerging Motif ‘Evaluation Science’William James Fear0none Background: It is important to distinguish between evaluation as an inherent, automatic, affective process and Program Evaluation (Evaluation, with capitalised ‘E’) as an institution, and equally important to consider what a good understanding of evaluation tells us about Evaluation. Evaluation is an established social institution whose modern roots can be traced back to 16th century France. Since the early 1900s the institution has developed within and across a range of scientific disciplines with interests in perceived social problems and efforts to resolve the said problems. This can be demonstrated objectively by the number and scale of relevant publications within relevant disciplines. This, in turn, helps us understand more about Evaluation as an institution. Set in this context is the question of Evaluation Science: is this simply a fashionable institutional motif or is it a potential new era for Evaluation? Purpose: Commentary on the history and development of Program Evaluation. Setting: Not applicable. Intervention: Not applicable. Research design: Not applicable. Data collection & analysis: Not applicable. Findings: Not applicable. Keywords: program evaluation; evaluation; history; evaluation science. https://journals.sfu.ca/jmde/index.php/jmde_1/article/view/627
spellingShingle William James Fear
A Critical-Historical Review of Program Evaluation and the Emerging Motif ‘Evaluation Science’
Journal of MultiDisciplinary Evaluation
title A Critical-Historical Review of Program Evaluation and the Emerging Motif ‘Evaluation Science’
title_full A Critical-Historical Review of Program Evaluation and the Emerging Motif ‘Evaluation Science’
title_fullStr A Critical-Historical Review of Program Evaluation and the Emerging Motif ‘Evaluation Science’
title_full_unstemmed A Critical-Historical Review of Program Evaluation and the Emerging Motif ‘Evaluation Science’
title_short A Critical-Historical Review of Program Evaluation and the Emerging Motif ‘Evaluation Science’
title_sort critical historical review of program evaluation and the emerging motif evaluation science
url https://journals.sfu.ca/jmde/index.php/jmde_1/article/view/627
work_keys_str_mv AT williamjamesfear acriticalhistoricalreviewofprogramevaluationandtheemergingmotifevaluationscience
AT williamjamesfear criticalhistoricalreviewofprogramevaluationandtheemergingmotifevaluationscience