Social Construction of Reality - Bad Request

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CHAPTER THREE RESEARCH METHODOLOGY Introduction The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2001 requires K-12 organizations to perform numerous program evaluations, despite the fact few of these organizations have the professional capacity to support program evaluations beyond the minimum level required to achieve federal compliance (Rossi, Lipsey, & Freeman, 2004; Scriven, 1996). Because the K-12 arena is not populated with professional program evaluators, evaluations typically emphasize outcomes at the expense of process assessment while also prioritizing compliance needs ahead of other stakeholder interests (Eddy & Berry, 2007). As early as 2002, the Department of Education expressed concerns that “evaluation studies are not as helpful as they could be to practitioners at the local level, nor can they answer questions of causation” (New Directions, 2004). The selected Missouri school district, hereafter referred to as The School District, has not yet determined how to implement program evaluations that are routinely capable of maximizing the use of stakeholder time, overcoming geographic constraints, and providing anonymity where necessary while still promoting organizational knowledge creation. Research Paradigm and Philosophy To best understand how processes and meanings evolve from any research, the reader is well-served to understand the cognitive logic of the researcher. Coghlan and Brannick (2005) emphasize “researchers’ epistemological and ontological perspectives legitimate their own distinctive way of doing research and determine what they consider 45
as a valid, legitimate contribution to knowledge or theory” (p. 5). This research is framed by a decidedly subjectivist ontological point of view which makes room for the idea that perception is reality. As such, reality hinges on individual cognition; it has multiple frames of reference- as opposed to an objectivist view that alternatively argues there is a single reality which hinges on external determinants. Epistemology, the study of the theory of knowledge, concerns itself with questions regarding the essence and origin of knowledge. Again, the discipline is separated into objectivist and subjectivist leanings. Interpretation of language serves as a distinguishing factor. The researcher is an epistemological subjectivist, and, as such, “denies the possibility of a theory-neutral language” (Coghlan & Brannick, 2005, p. 5). The confluence of these subjective stances creates an interpretivist/constructivst research stance. Additionally, it is important to contextualize this stance within the general paradigm of evaluation design, which Cronbach (1982) observed is “an exercise of the dramatic imagination” (p. 23). Finally, the research must be situated within the specific paradigm of the UFE approach, which is primarily judged, subjectively, by its utility to stakeholders (Patton, 1997). Problem and Purpose Overview The School District has not yet determined how to implement program evaluations that are routinely capable of maximizing the use of stakeholder time, overcoming geographic constraints, and providing anonymity where necessary while still promoting organizational knowledge creation. 46
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UTILIZATION-FOCUSED EVALUATION OF T
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The undersigned, appointed by the D
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The lessons I have
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fearlessness, and reminded me of wh
Page 9 and 10: Research Questions Research Methods
Page 11 and 12: LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1. Strong
Page 13 and 14: UTLIZATION-FOCUSED EVALUATION OF TH
Page 15 and 16: process-use within future evaluatio
Page 17 and 18: One leader trained by this program,
Page 19 and 20: Objectivation. Objectivation is the
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Page 23 and 24: logical or sequential links among r
Page 25 and 26: Figure 1. The School District’s p
Page 27 and 28: Objectivation. This is the process
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Page 31 and 32: CHAPTER TWO REVIEW OF LITERATURE In
Page 33 and 34: Objectivation Legitimation OVERVIEW
Page 35 and 36: the profession: systemic inquiry, c
Page 37 and 38: 5. Eclectic Evaluation (1 approach
Page 39 and 40: however, it is important to remembe
Page 41 and 42: Figure 3. The Utilization-Focused E
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Page 47 and 48: Institutionalization. A second proc
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Page 51 and 52: evaluation report was made to the s
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Page 55 and 56: played into the use of electronic s
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Page 59: to achieve federal compliance (Ross
Page 63 and 64: principles (Patton, 1997) in order
Page 65 and 66: with other stakeholders (Appendix E
Page 67 and 68: Short interviews. Development of qu
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Page 71 and 72: Summary The School District had not
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Page 81 and 82: The School District’s vision, mis
Page 83 and 84: Figure 8. Step 1- Important concept
Page 85 and 86: Figure 10. A picture of “outgoing
Page 87 and 88: Short Stakeholder Interviews The ne
Page 89 and 90: This stakeholder went on to say tha
Page 91 and 92: (Budget Training Manual). A stakeho
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Page 101 and 102: Figure 12. An organic reporting too
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Page 105 and 106: CHAPTER FIVE DISCUSSION WITH CONCLU
Page 107 and 108: Discussion of Findings Three resear
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5. Organizational culture can be ch
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evaluator, but also the program sup
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Table Two. The research findings ca
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3. The School District should compl
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2. A follow-up study of the impleme
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The chief research question was whe
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Denzin, N. K. & Lincoln, Y. S. (200
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Nelson, M. & Eddy, R. M. (2008). Ev
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Starratt, R. (2003). Centering educ
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22. Accreditation and certification
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Researcher’s Name: Laura Nelson R
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The Campus Institutional Review Boa
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Short Interview Protocol Appendix E
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Second Long Interview Protocol Appe
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Appendix I Affinity Diagram 124
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Appendix K NCLB Content Analysis Di
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Appendix M School District Vision,
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Appendix O Examples of Programs- Da
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Interviewee Effective (ness) (effec
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Interviewee Perceive perception Sup
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Program Mission CSIP Value Appendix
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VITA Laura Nelson earned a B.A. in
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