The act of valuing in an evaluation may be perceived in different ways. We consider the multiple theoretic perspectives that govern an evaluator's behavior and present a typology of evaluator valuing roles. Within this typology we describe three ways in which value judgments are typically reached--by stakeholders alone, stakeholders and evaluators…

As is the case with other fields, there is motivation for studying the impact that the body of evaluation theory literature has within and outside the field. The authors used journal articles written by theorists included on the evaluation theory tree by Alkin and Christie (2004; Christie & Alkin, 2008) and published in the Web of Science, an…

Discusses the misuse of evaluation by exploring the ethics of those using the evaluation. Characterizes various misuse situations, including financial misuse, and provides insight into why misuse of evaluation takes place. (SLD)

Classification or category systems are important for defining and introducing new concepts, such as decision management/facilitative v judgmental evaluations. Furthermore, category systems can lead to a reexamination or restatement of views of evaluation. (CP)

The editors give each of the theorists a chance to respond to questions posed about the context of the situation in relation to their own experience in the field, exploring how the exercise had an impact on their evaluation designs.

The user-oriented and utilization-focused evaluation design of the two-year Caribbean Agricultural Extension Project, funded by Aid to International Development, is reviewed. The evaluation scope, stakeholders, evaluation team credibility, official approval of evaluation, and confidence in the evaluation process are addressed, within a…

This essay discusses principles which govern evaluation theorizing, describing theorizing as a subjective, informal, and dynamic process. The papers of Rippey, Guba, and Wolf are used to illustrate the process of theory development, with special reference to evaluation as rhetoric. (See TM 504 630-635). (CTM)

The theorists whose work appears in this issue have confronted the exercise presented to them in vastly different ways. The editors of this journal asked these theorists to consider how they would evaluate the Bunche-Da Vinci program, and to make and specify assumptions about the program context. The primary task, however, was to describe "a…

Case studies of educational program evaluations demonstrate that utilization of evaluative information occurs; however, its forms and the forces influencing utilization are complex. Naturalistic methods were used to study utilization. (See RIE: ED 174 666). (Available from: Jossey-Bass, Inc., 433 California St., San Francisco, CA 94104, single…

Program theory plays a prominent role in many evaluations, not only in theory-driven evaluations. This paper presents a case study of the process of developing and refining a program's theory within a user-oriented evaluation. In user-oriented (or utilization-focused) evaluations, primary users can play a role in defining their own program theory.…