This discussion foregrounds four key issues engaged by the articles presented in this special issue: the unique challenges and opportunities of environmental education evaluation, how to think well about the evaluation approaches and purposes that best match this domain, evaluation capacity building in environmental education and action, and…

Evaluation in environmental education is fairly nascent despite decades-long attention to its importance. In setting the context for future chapters appearing in this special issue of the "Journal of Evaluation and Program Planning," attention is devoted to the political circumstances associated with retrenchment in the public sector and increased…

We join the authors in this special issue in their call to embrace a culture of evaluation. Obstacles to change are formidable. Educators debate their purpose--provide knowledge or achieve environmental goals--and we have limited evidence of the effectiveness of environmental programs and policies. Change requires collaboration across…

Discusses how a time-series approach was used in the evaluation of the impact of California Senate Bill 2669 on child maltreatment reports. Describes the factors that influenced decisions about evaluation methods and the selection of outcome and exogenous measures. Recommends actions that would facilitate the implementation of evaluations of this…

This discussion of evaluations of mediation programs at seven sites and of shock incarceration and home arrest focuses on the similarities in the interpretations of alternative dispute-resolution programs to interpretations of alternatives to incarceration programs. The political construction of the two approaches, which are both designed to…

In most cases, questions of cause and effect cannot be answered by social science methods. However, it is argued that evaluation should not be freed from dealing with missing causal links. It is possible to predict whether a causal question is likely to be measured or assessed. (SLD)

The seven articles that follow this introduction put the discussion of particular criminal justice programs into the context of public policy and focus on the effects of a "get tough" approach. The importance of theory and policy in program evaluation cannot be ignored. (SLD)

This article promotes the use of contextual constructionism in evaluation research. The call for truth in sentencing in Tennessee (and across the country) is used to illustrate the conflict among stakeholders that arises from program evaluation and to show how their multiple realities make a contextual constructionist approach pertinent. (SLD)

Traditional evaluation approaches assume that consensus can be reached among policymakers, managers, and staff about goals that should guide a program. Evaluations of juvenile detention facilities and a home arrest program illustrate that consensus is not always possible. A constructionist evaluation approach is recommended for such situations.…

The feasibility of applying multiattribute utility theory to the needs assessment and priority-setting activities of human services planning councils was studied in Essex County (New Jersey). Decision-making and information filtering processes are explored in the context of community planning. (SLD)

Community-academic partnership research is a fairly new genre of community-based participatory research. It has arisen in part, from recognition of the potential role of alliances in the development and translation of applied knowledge and the elimination of health disparities. This paper reports on the learning process of academic and community…

The role that evaluation can play in educational reform in China is discussed, drawing on an ongoing study of present evaluation practices and the identification, development, and evaluation of texts and materials for teaching university students about evaluation. Case studies of evaluation in Shanghai illustrate current practices. (SLD)

Some of the conceptual, methodological, and logistical impediments to sound evaluations of jail-based drug-treatment programs are described. The focus is on a program in a large urban jurisdiction that illustrates difficulty in tracking clients and coordinating agency responses. Some suggestions are offered to help future researchers. (SLD)

The seven articles of this special section explore evaluation in South Africa. Particular emphasis is placed on policy development in the areas of health, education, and housing and on efforts to alleviate the legacy of apartheid. Participative and quantitative efforts are described. (SLD)