Foundations of Empowerment Evaluation

Employing both qualitative and quantitative methodologies, empowerment evaluation is the use of evaluation concepts, techniques, and findings to foster improvement and self-determination. David M. Fetterman explores its background and theory and goes on to present the three steps of empowerment evaluation: establishing a mission statement about a program; taking stock; and charting a course for the future, while using case studies to highlight these steps in practice. Foundations of Empowerment Evaluation also covers standards for using EE; caveats and concerns; how to distinguish EE from other approaches, using the Internet as a tool and finally looks at the strengths, limitations, and conditions of empowerment evaluation.

Employing both qualitative and quantitative methodologies, empowerment evaluation is the use of evaluation concepts, techniques, and findings to foster improvement and self-determination. David M. Fetterman explores its background and theory and goes on to present the three steps of empowerment evaluation: establishing a mission statement about a program; taking stock; and charting a course for the future, while using case studies to highlight these steps in practice. Foundations of Empowerment Evaluation also covers standards for using EE; caveats and concerns; how to distinguish EE from other approaches, using the Internet as a tool and finally looks at the strengths, limitations, and conditions of empowerment evaluation.

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Shows readers when to use empowerment evaluation and how to use it more effectively. Illustrates the three steps of empowerment evaluation with four case examples in hospital and educational settings. Discusses concerns about the use of empowerment evaluation, the relationship between this type and other types of evaluation, the role of the Internet in disseminating empowerment evaluation, and strengths and weaknesses of the method. The author directs the MA Policy Analysis and Evaluation Program in the School of Education at Stanford University. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

David M. Fetterman is a Consulting Professor of Education and the Director of Evaluation, Career Development, and Alumni Relations at Stanford University. Formerly, he was the Director of the MA Policy Analysis and Evaluation Program in the School of Education at Stanford University. He was Professor and Research Director at the California Institute of Integral Studies; Principal Research Scientist at the American Institutes for Research; and a Senior Associate and Project Director at RMC Research Corporation. He received his Ph.D. from Stanford University in educational and medical anthropology. David is a past president of the American Evaluation Association and the American Anthropological Association's Council on Anthropology and Education. He has conducted extensive multisite evaluation research on local, state, and national levels. Recognized for his contributions to the development of ethnography and ethnographic evaluation, he has recently focused on developing empowerment evaluations-to help people help themselves-throughout the United States and in South Africa. They include a Hewlett Packard Philanthropy Digital Villages project, an Arkansas State Department of Education project, and a Hewlett Foundation One East Palo Alto community revitalization project.  David was elected a fellow of the American Anthropological Association and the Society for Applied Anthropology. He received the Paul Lazarsfeld Award for Outstanding Contributions to Evaluation Theory and the Myrdal Award for Cumulative Contributions to Evaluation Practice; the George and Louise Spindler Award for outstanding contributions to educational anthropology as a scholar and practitioner; theEthnographic Evaluation Award from the Council on Anthropology and Education; the President's Award from the Evaluation Research Society for contributions to ethnographic educational evaluation; and the Washington Association of Practicing Anthropologists' Praxis Publication Award for translating knowledge into action. He has consulted for a variety of federal agencies, foundations, corporations, and academic institutions, including the U.S. Department of Education, National Institute of Mental Health, Centers for Disease Control; U.S. Department of Agriculture; W.K. Kellogg Foundation; Rockefeller Foundation; Walter S. Johnson Foundation; Annie E. Casey Foundation; Marin Community Foundation; universities throughout the United States and Europe, as well as foreign agencies and ministries, such as the Ministry of Education in Japan. Fetterman is the General Editor for Garland/Taylor and Francis Publication's Studies in Education and Culture series. He has contributed to the International Encyclopedia of Education, the Encyclopedia of Human Intelligence, and the Encyclopedia of Social Science Research Methods, and the Encyclopedia of Evaluation. He is author of Foundations of Empowerment Evaluation; Empowerment Evaluation: Knowledge and Tools for Self-Assessment and Accountability; Speaking the Language of Power: Communication, Collaboration, and Advocacy; Ethnography: Step by Step, Second Edition; Qualitative Approaches to Evaluation in Education: The Silent Scientific Revolution; Excellence and Equality: A Qualitatively Different Perspective on Gifted and Talented Education; Educational Evaluation: Ethnography in Theory, Practice, and Politics; and Ethnography in Educational Evaluation.  He recently coedited Empowerment Evaluation: Principles in Practice.