University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Re-examining the implications of systems thinking for evaluation

Gates, Emily F

Content Files
GATES-DISSERTATION-2016.pdf

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/90530

Description

Title
Re-examining the implications of systems thinking for evaluation
Author(s)
Gates, Emily F
Issue Date
2016-04-14
Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)
Schwandt, Thomas A.
Doctoral Committee Chair(s)
Greene, Jennifer C.
Committee Member(s)
  • DeStefano, Lizanne
  • Reynolds, Martin
Department of Study
Educational Psychology
Discipline
Educational Psychology
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Degree Level
Dissertation
Date of Ingest
2016-07-07T19:53:43Z
Keyword(s)
evaluation, systems thinking, complexity science, critical systems heuristics, values
Abstract
Over the last twenty years, many prominent evaluators have been borrowing and using ideas, theories, and methods from the systems and complexity fields with little research on the implications of this trend for the evaluation field. This thesis examines this borrowing to identify over-arching implications for evaluation theory and practice. The first paper reviews inter-disciplinary literature on systems thinking and complexity science with regards to evaluating social policies and programs and identifies major implications for how evaluators theorize evaluation practice. The second paper reports on an analysis of eight cases of evaluation practice that use systems and complexity ideas and techniques and presents findings regarding how evaluators conceive of and practice evaluation. The third paper advances an argument for how evaluators can use critical systems heuristics to surface, reflect on, and make explicit the values that influence and should influence an evaluation. Collectively, these papers support the potential of borrowing from the systems and complexity fields to expand on and re-define evaluation theory and practice.
Graduation Semester
2016-05
Type of Resource
text
Permalink
http://hdl.handle.net/2142/90530
Copyright and License Information
Copyright 2016 Emily Gates

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