Participation-oriented evaluation approaches in community action processes
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.7179/PSRI_2014.24.04Keywords:
participatory evaluation, empowerment evaluation, participatory approaches, community action, research.Abstract
Introduction. The evaluation of community action is an advisable practice in community work, that can help to properly manage resources and to improve social and educational interventions. Participation-oriented evaluation approaches are an opportunity to evaluate community action relying involving all stakeholders, not just those with technical background and skills. With the basis provided by the information of international literature on the subject, in this paper we make a theoretical analysis of participation-oriented evaluation approaches, with three goals: to justify its relevance in the evaluation of community actions; to present the specific characteristics of the most cited participatory approaches in that literature, and to clarify their shared characteristics.
Method. We carried out a systematic review and analysis of articles published in international journals on evaluation and community development since 2000.
Results. The results present the specific features of four approaches used in the field of evaluation of community actions: (1) Collaborative evaluation; (2) Practical-Participatory Evaluation; (3) Transformative-Participatory evaluation; and (4) Empowerment Evaluation; and the characteristics shared by these four methods, besides other approaches referenced in the bibliography attached, which are focused on the participation of people.
Conclusions. From our point of view, the models that best fit the socio-educational approaches to community action are the Transformative-Participatory Evaluation and the Empowerment Evaluation. The Participatory Evaluation in which we frame our actions is the one that allows us to change and to acquire in this process, new powers that allow us to transform the reality we are living in.
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