Evaluative Styles: Deliberative and Algorithmic

• In Event: 2484 - Section on Sociology of Education Refereed Roundtable Session
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: Table 25. Theoretical Perspectives in Education

Abstract

This paper advances the concept of “evaluative style”. Two distinct evaluative styles are described: (1) Deliberative evaluative style, which operates according to an evaluation logic that, through dialogue among experts, seeks to carefully consider the pros and cons of a decision and be able to explain the reasons and motivations that led to that decision; here it is expected that evaluators reach agreements through deliberation. (2) The algorithmic evaluative style, on the other hand, it is not center on consensus agreements that emerge from peer deliberations; as its name implies, here evaluation means methodically following an ordered series of operations (frequently employing quantitative tools) that have been established previous to the time of the evaluation. The paper develops these concepts comparing--through a series of analogies--how these evaluative styles follow a coherent logic in very dissimilar social settings and organizations. The main points of reference for the comparison are the “traditional” and “quantitative” evaluation methods used to assess the “merit” of university professors. These methods of evaluation are compared with other activities where human aptitudes and labor are valued, classified and administered: (1) slave plantations, (2) professional baseball teams and (3) banks. These comparisons are made to highlight how evaluative styles operate analogously in conspicuously dissimilar social settings.

Author

• Hector Vera, UNAM