Download the 2018 Program here: EViE 2018 Program
EViE 2018 Theme
EXAMINING EVALUATION QUALITY
IN DIVERSE CONTEXTS
Keynote Speaker: Dr. Rodney Hopson
When methodological decisions are restricted according to narrow definitions of scientific rigor, the validity of research and evaluation is undermined (Hood, Hopson, & Kirkhart, 2015). Historically, rigor has been associated with the positivist paradigm and made synonymous with precision and adherence to a strict set of rules (Hood, Hopson, & Kirkhart, 2015). Many funders continue to apply this definition in order to prioritize research and evaluation based on a traditional model that places randomized control trials above all other methodologies (Schwandt, 2015). Evaluators have challenged this traditional discourse through research-based in methodological pluralism (Patton, 2015) and multicultural validity (Kirkhart, 2013). Alternative definitions of rigor have emerged, emphasizing trustworthiness (Lincoln & Guba, 1985), interpersonal understanding, and the extent to which consequences of inquiry are just (Kirkhart, 1995). Taken together, these ideas suggest that methodological choices be motivated by the intent of inquiry, and justified by context and culture (Julnes & Rog, 2015).
2018 Keynote Speaker
Rodney Hopson, Ph.D.
Professor Of Education Policy
School Of Education And Human Development
George Mason University
Dr. Hopson’s primary research areas lie in comparative and International Education Policy and Politics with a focus on Official, Indigenous, and mediums of instruction language issues; Critical Democratic, and Cultural Issues In Education and Social Policy and Evaluation; Neighborhoods And Education Policy; and Interpretive, Qualitative and Ethnographic Methods.
In addition to his Professorship at George Mason University, Dr. Hopson currently serves as an Affiliated Faculty Member of The Center for Culturally Responsive Assessment and Evaluation (CREA) at The University Of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.
Emergent Voices in Evaluation 