The challenges of small-scale evaluation in a foreign country: reflections on practice

• Published in: Educational assessment, evaluation and accountability evaluation and accountability, 2010-08, Vol.22 (3), p.199-213
• Main Author: Saunders, Lesley
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Analysis; Assessment; Bilingual Education; Children & youth; Disabilities; Education; Educational Environment; Educational Needs; Elementary School Students; Elementary schools; Evaluation Problems; Evaluators; Experiential Learning; Foreign Countries; Human rights; Inclusion; Inclusive education; Inclusive Schools; Kosovo; Learning disabilities; Mainstreaming; Minority Groups; Multicultural Education; Municipalities; Nongovernmental Organizations; Pilot Projects; Politics of Education; Program Effectiveness; Program Evaluation; Reflection on Practice; Role of Education; Schools; Segregation; Special Needs Students; Studies; Testing and Evaluation; War; Writing; Young Children
• ISSN: 1874-8597; 1874-8600
• DOI: 10.1007/s11092-010-9101-3

This paper is a reflection on practice. It begins by briefly describing an evaluation of an externally-funded education programme in Kosovo (a new country in south-east Europe). The programme was managed by Save the Children in Kosovo and aimed to develop and promote models of inclusive education through three strands of activity. The first of these provided a bi-lingual multicultural learning environment for children of 3–5 years; the second was designed to integrate children with special educational needs and disabilities into mainstream education; and the third was concerned to support the inclusion of Roma/Ashkali/Egyptian children in primary schooling. The three strands of the programme were piloted in selected schools in different municipalities throughout the country for between 1 year and 3 years. The client (Save the Children in Kosovo) commissioned an independent evaluation to assist with decision-making at a time of transition for the programme. The author (who was the evaluator) discusses how she attempted to address the methodological challenges often typical of this kind of work: a small budget, a compressed time-frame, a complex and volatile socio-political climate and, last but not least, a contractual requirement to produce authoritative recommendations for action. She goes on to reflect on how and why various unplanned events and encounters that occurred outwith the parameters of the evaluation made a significant contribution to its outcomes. The author invites comments from other evaluators about their experiences in similar situations.