This paper outlines a vision of evaluation and its place in social and educational policy and practice. It focuses on the 'presence' of evaluation in theory, organizational learning and internationalization and the 'voice' of participants in the evaluation process drawing on a range of examples of evaluation practice. It argues for an 'inclusive' evaluation stance from a moral/political standpoint and from the standpoint of sound evaluation design. It offers evaluation as a way of promoting and depicting the effects of social policy on its recipients and concludes by suggesting the way evaluations can promote 'provisional stabilities' for those experiencing rapid and complex change.
This paper draws together evaluative research work over a period of 15 years and includes a 'manifesto' style theoretical position on an inclusive approach to evaluative research. It contains references to many unpublished and published reports, data sets and models that set out a methodological approach to evaluation which can be depicted as 'social practice' based and inclusive. It is has now been used as a framework for evaluation in many contexts including a UN educational intervention (the evaluation of five year initiative in Palestinian schools 2001-2006), British Council world wide (one of the default approaches recommended by the British Council for its development work) and CETL national and Widening Participation evaluations in the UK. The paper was refereed 'blind' by three referees familiar with the field of research. RAE_import_type : Journal article RAE_uoa_type : Education
