The Evaluator's Apprentices

Abstract

To judge from the handbooks currently available, many are convinced of the value of training practitioners in various fields to use evaluation in their work. However, it takes time to learn to carry out evaluation, and the handbooks do not make clear what the process of learning to carry out evaluation will be like. Three cases of training teachers to carry out evaluation are examined for what they reveal on this topic, and are judged against criteria for usefulness to the practitioners, for the use made of the evaluations, and for the continued use of evaluation by the practitioners. Implications for policy on and practice in training are discussed.