Читать книгу Evaluation in Today’s World - Veronica G. Thomas - Страница 46

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istock/Devrimb

Evaluators must use their own moral compass, in conjunction with the guidance of the profession’s principles and standards, to take the most ethical and socially just course of action possible.

Making ethical decisions throughout the evaluation process is a relatively easy task when the facts are clear and the choices black-and-white. But it is a totally different story when the evaluation context is clouded by ambiguity, incomplete information, cultural incongruence, biases, multiple points of view and values, conflicting responsibilities, and political pressures. Different stakeholders often prioritize different values and weigh risks and benefits differently. In such situations, which evaluators experience frequently, engaging in ethical behaviors and producing a quality evaluation depends not only on evaluators’ methodological skills and experience, but also on their critical insight, integrity, cultural competence, and willingness to take a socially just and defendable course of action in view of the standards and guidelines of the profession and the context in which the evaluation takes place.

After reading this chapter and participating in the activities, readers will be able to meet the following learning objectives:

 Explain the origins of research ethics codes and their relevance to evaluation

 Identify sources of ethical thinking in evaluation

 Demonstrate ethical sensitivities particularly in settings where there might be cultural incongruence and cultural conflicts of interest between the evaluator and the evaluation context

 Discuss and distinguish between the Evaluators’ Ethical Guiding Principles and the Program Evaluation Standards

 Use the Evaluators’ Ethical Guiding Principles and Program Evaluation Standards to support ethical decision making and evaluation quality in diverse contexts