Challenging Societies, Changing Education

Dr. Ann Doucette, Director, The Evaluators' Institute (TEI) and the Midge Smith Center for Evaluation Effectiveness (MSCEE) was invited to speak at the World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE) in Doha, Qatar. WISE, an invitation only meeting of 1200 world leaders addressing "Challenging Societies, Changing Education," is an initiative of Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development, launched in 2009 under the aegis of Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser. "WISE is based on the practical awareness that the challenges in education are no longer bound by countries’ political boundaries and, therefore, its mandate is international. WISE recognizes that the challenges facing the world community have never been greater - that we need innovative solutions not achieved by traditional approaches alone." WISE is an international interactive platform for a multitude of established and new educational actors to collaborate proactively all year round. Dr. Doucette was invited to speak on the need for an innovative assessment approach that goes beyond a reliance on standardized tests as the barometer of educational progress; and, the need to measure 21st century work skills — collaboration, communication, critical thinking and problem-solving skills.

New Chicago Course Offering

The Evaluators' Institute (TEI) announces a new course offering in Chicago – Intermediate Qualitative Analysis (April 18-19, 2012), taught by Dr. Delwyn Goodrick (TEI Faculty, co-editor of the Evaluation Journal of Australasia (EJA).

This intermediate level course builds on basic coding and categorizing familiar to most evaluators, and extends the array of strategies available to support rigorous interpretations.

This course presents an array of approaches to support the analysis of qualitative data with an emphasis on procedures for the analysis of interview data. Strategies such as, thematic analysis, pattern matching, template analysis, process tracing, schema analysis and qualitative comparative analysis are outlined and illustrated with reference to examples from evaluation and from a range of disciplines, including sociology, education, political science and psychology.

The core emphasis focuses on creating awareness of heuristics that support selection and application of appropriate analytic techniques that match the purpose of the evaluation, type of data, and practical considerations such as resource constraints. While a brief overview of qualitative analysis software is provided, the structure of the workshop focuses on analysis using manual methods. A range of activities to support critical thinking and application of principles is integrated using a hands-on, workshop format.

This is an intermediate level course. Participants are assumed to have some knowledge/or experience with qualitative data.

TEI welcomes Dr. Leona Ba

The Evaluators' Institute welcomes Dr. Leona Ba. Dr. Ba is an international development consultant with more than 15 years of experience. Her areas of expertise include Monitoring and Evaluation and Strategic Planning She acquired her extensive experience in evaluation and strategic planning while working on numerous consulting assignments with organizations such as the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Plan International, and the International Development Research Centre (IDRC). She has conducted evaluations of programs intervening in various sectors including institutional capacity building, emergency response, education, health, and natural resource management.

Dr. Ba has taught university-level and professional development courses in West Africa and the United States of America in various subjects including research methods and intercultural communication. In 2000 and 2001, she co-taught the Evaluators’ Institute course entitled Evaluation In and Across Different Cultures. She has a special interest in culture and its implications for evaluation and has conducted research on knowledge management and organizational culture. She has worked and lived in various countries in Africa, Europe, and North America and recently completed a one-year assignment in Haiti evaluating USAID development programs. She holds a Doctorate in Human Resource Development / Organizational Development from the George Washington University, and a Master of Science in Agriculture from the University of Maryland.