Non-formal Educator Use of Evaluation Findings: Factors of Influence

Increasing demands for accountability in educational programming have resulted in more frequent calls for program evaluation activity in educational organizations. Many organizations include conducting program evaluations as part of the job responsibilities of program staff. Cooperative Extension is a national system offering non-formal educational programs through land grant universities. Many Extension services require non-formal educational program evaluations be conducted by its locally-based educators. Research on evaluation practice has focused primarily on the evaluation efforts of professional, external evaluators. The evaluation work of program staff that have many responsibilities including program evaluation has received little attention. This study examined how non-formal educators in Cooperative Extension use the results of their program evaluation efforts and what factors influence that use. A conceptual framework adapted from the evaluation use literature guides the examination of how evaluation characteristics, organizational characteristics and stakeholder involvement influence four types of evaluation use; instrumental use, conceptual use, persuasive use and process use. Factor analysis indicates ten types of evaluation use practiced by non-formal educators. Of the variables examined, stakeholder involvement is most influential followed by evaluation characteristics and organizational characteristics. The research implications from the study include empirical confirmation of the framework developed by previous researchers as well as the need for further exploration of potentially influencing factors. Practical implications include delineating accountability and program improvement tasks within Extension in order to improve the results of both. There is some evidence that evaluation capacity building efforts may be increasing instrumental use by educators evaluating their own programs. Non-formal educational organizations are encouraged to involve stakeholders in all levels of evaluation work as one means to increase use of evaluation findings.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph. D.

Level thesis:degree_level

doctoral

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Agricultural and Extension Education

Department dc:contributor.department

Agricultural and Extension Education

Grantor dc:publisher

Virginia Tech

Year dc:date.issued

2010

Author dc:creator

• Baughman, Sarah

Chair dc:contributor.committeechair

• Boyd, Heather H.

Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember

• Franz, Nancy K.
• Creamer, Elizabeth G.
• Mancini, Jay A.

• stakeholder involvement
• organizational involvement
• evaluation characteristics
• Cooperative Extension
• evaluation use

Statement dc:rights

• In Copyright

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

Dc Identifier Other

etd-08232010-085351

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/28775