Evaluating ICT for Education in Africa - Royal Holloway, University of ...

evaluation. However, the sustained problematising of participation remainspertinent, especially within the specific context of development initiativesrelated to ICT. As Heeks (2008 p.30) notes:„Who participates matters – this is often a very small, vocal,elite, minority. How they participate matters – individual andgroup processes produce different results. Why they participatematters as well – participants often give the answers they thinkdesigners want to hear.‟The nature of applied monitoring and evaluation exercises means there willrarely be a situation in which either a solely top-down, deductive andexternally imposed or bottom-up, inductive and internally driven process isappropriate. Rather, a combination will exist which reflects both the nuancednature of operating with real programmes and the specific priorities of thedecision makers in each context (Gray 2004, Bamberger 2006). Thus acentral issue of contention is where on this continuum the emphasis shouldfall in each situation, with those who advocate for considerable external inputdue to the current legislative and high accountability climate (Huberman1995) in opposition to those who maintain that stakeholders should beprimary decision makers regardless of external conditions (Sigsgaard 2002,Fetterman and Wandersman 2004).Promoting participatory methods with stakeholders is complex and timeconsuming but is likely to improve both the process and outcomes ofmonitoring and evaluation and enhance overall programme efficacy. Thesignificance of operating in this way, investing time in building relationshipswith participants when conducting research activities, was witnessed whilstconducting focus groups with teachers in Rema, Ethiopia (17/04/08). Theresearch team participated in a two hour cultural celebration in the schoolwith all the teachers after the lessons had finished and before the focusgroups began. The centre point of this was a ceremony known as „gursha‟ thatinvolved the research team being fed a dish called „injera‟ by hand from theteachers as a sign of welcome and honour. Being fed by teachers, drinking198