I’ve lived in a lot of international environments. Sometimes, I’m speaking in my second or third tongue with others who are speaking in their second or third tongue. It makes for interesting conversation and notably draws a lot of attention to the importance of language and definitions. The simpler, the better in foreign languages, but…

In my evaluation practice, it’s been surprising to me that the notion of ‘theory’ unnerves some people. It renders thoughts of Einstein and scientific inquiry that I think many shy away from, after all, they are just trying to run a business, an NGO, a government department. Who has time for theories? But with a…

I’m finding it difficult lately. This is surprising to me as I’ve been known to juggle multiple tasks at once and excel under pressure. I’d like to credit my father whose ability to focus on a single task for long stretches of time has long impressed me since childhood. I could blame it on the…

While I’ve engaged in and lead studies focusing on qualitative and quantitative methods and data collection, I have never formally studied the theoretical underpinnings of them. Reading “Research Design” by John Creswell (2014), I find myself nodding along and seeing my work in evaluation reflected back at me as he unpacks 4 specific worldviews from…

The following reviews were selected based on their relevance to evaluation, youth, evaluative / critical thinking and potential for application to my future research design. Using Empowerment Evaluation with Youth by Sarah Heath (Heath, 2021)from the University of Ottawa examines youth participation and engagement in an empowerment evaluation setting. This approach is unique as it…

Investigating evaluative thinking skills among educators and young people in preparation for transitions to education, employment, and entrepreneurship. I am in year 1 of a 4-year PhD program in the Educational Studies at the University of Victoria. My dissertation focuses on building capacity for evaluation and fostering key life skills among young people to think…

New Directions for Evaluation is the official journal of the American Evaluation Association. The journal is administered by Wiley Online Library, which oversees publications of more than 2000 journals. Wiley views the future of research as open access, open data and open practices. In practice, this means that the author pays a publication charge to…

Unpacking the Topic, Problem, Purpose and Research Questions Evaluation is a critical process at the start of any large project to a) ensure all relevant parties agree on goals, b) how they will achieve it and importantly, c) how they will monitor progress. It is the 5000ft view of a project that sees many moving…

Hello! I’m very happy to be at UVic starting a PhD in Educational Studies. My journey here has been long and winding and although I’m not formally trained in education, somehow I’ve found myself developing a career around learning! Perhaps it’s a character trait that I couldn’t let go of as a child or that…