Gatekeepers Within Participatory Evaluation Practices: A Meta-Evaluation Study

• In Event: Engaging Stakeholders in Evaluations for Systems Improvement and Equitable Outcomes

Abstract

Participatory evaluation practices are a cornerstone of effective program evaluation in education. In order to incorporate meaningful, timely information into a useful evaluation framework, many evaluators employ a Utilization Focused Evaluation (U-FE) framework. This framework relies heavily on access to stakeholder feedback. According to Moore, et al. (2024), there are gatekeepers who can significantly influence evaluators’ access to these important data. This mixed-methods case study will describe and examine the reflections of six early-to-mid career evaluators with the application of U-FE practices, and their experiences with gatekeepers in the educational program evaluation context.

Authors

• Lauren Coleman-Tempel, University of Kansas

• Michael Lawrence Klein-Thibodeau, University of Kansas