| CODE | SWP3503 | ||||||||||||||||
| TITLE | The Practice of Evaluation | ||||||||||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 03 - Years 2, 3, 4 in Modular Undergraduate Course | ||||||||||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 6 | ||||||||||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 5 | ||||||||||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Social Policy and Social Work | ||||||||||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | This study-unit focuses on the process of evaluation and explores a selection of evaluation approaches suitable for different programmes, audiences, settings and circumstances. Professional practice in the social sector takes place within a context that is demanding greater professional, administrative and political accountability. The professionalisation of social work within the context of the knowledge-information revolution of our age determines the knowledge base of social work and its development. Narrative, anecdotal, and casework information derived from clinical practice are increasingly being put to the test of applied systematic inquiry; the urgency for more empirically validated practice and programmes is increasingly accepted in all mainstream social work practice. The same can be said in the development of contemporary social policy, which is increasingly being challenged by cost-driven considerations, necessitating a stronger evaluation orientation to secure social policies and programmes that continue to respond to the people’s real needs, especially those most vulnerable. Consequently, professional practice in the social sector requires knowledge and skills of applied systematic inquiry and the methods of social scientific evaluation. Applied systematic inquiry develops the knowledge foundation for evidence-informed professional practice, provides the basis for increased accountability, and enables the development of more effective practice, programmes, and policies. The development of knowledge and skills of applied systematic inquiry are basic for practitioners to fully understand and utilise social work, social policy and social administration evaluation literature, and for practitioners to evaluate the effectiveness of their interventions and practice/programme/policy efficacy. Social work evaluation is contributing to the better understanding of competing approaches to practice interventions, through applied systematic study and empirical evaluation. Moreover, knowledge and skills of applied systematic inquiry are necessary for determining the merit, value, worth, efficacy and impact of social programmes and policies, for community needs assessment, and for other practices common to social work, social policy, and social administration. SWP3502 is an advanced level research study-unit that focuses on the practice of evaluation: evaluation of need, evaluation of implementation, and evaluation of impact. It provides the foundation to methods used in the evaluation of social programmes. It is designed to explore and investigate theories, concepts, and methods of applied systematic inquiry. Emphasis is placed on the value content of evaluation in discerning the relationship between evaluation, professional judgement, and action. The evaluation of social policies, social programmes, and social work practice, are studied through the combination of practice theory, technical skills, and the development of critical analytical competencies necessary for evaluation practice. The political and value contexts within which evaluation takes place are explored to help student develop an evaluation practice orientation that continuously validates the user’s perspective. Different ways of involving a broad spectrum of stakeholders in the evaluation process are addressed. The main steps, decisions and processes involved in carrying out an evaluation project will be explored: - Preliminary planning and negotiating an evaluation plan, including deciding on the evaluation focus and developing the evaluation question(s); - Choosing the evaluation design, selecting the appropriate method(s), and planning the detailed logistics involved; - Collecting and analysing data to produce findings; - Reporting on findings and disseminating information to identified audiences to maximise the utilisation of evaluation outcome. The intent is for the student to acquire a critical understanding and ability to comprehend evaluation research studies and to do their own evaluation research, so as to be in a position to integrate the evaluation process and evaluation research outcomes in their professional practice. Students are expected to learn how to develop their own evaluation proposal, how to go about carrying out their evaluation, and how to use evaluation findings in their day to day professional practice. The study-unit prepares the student for SWP3602. Study-unit Aims: - To familiarise students with the logic and methods of scientific evaluation through a basic understanding of the philosophy of science and the applied scientific approach to programme evaluation; - To introduce students who are new to the field of evaluation to the theory and knowledge required to engage in basic programme evaluation and to critically consume evaluation literature; - To equip students with the critical analytical and creative skills and practical tools necessary to conceptualise, plan, design, implement, report, and assess an evaluation study, and to utilise evaluation research in informing and improving professional practice and social programmes; - To prepare students in how to establish the parameters of an evaluation, how to play the role of an evaluator, and how to carry out the step-by-step process in conducting an evaluation, including: to engage stakeholders at all stages of an evaluation project, to conceptualise an evaluation, determine and develop appropriate design methods and instruments for an evaluation, acquire a basic understanding of both quantitative and qualitative methods of data collection and analysis, and to undertake evaluation with a strong concern for the ethical implications; - To direct and support students in developing an evaluation question from an area of interest or concern, and in proceeding from an evaluation question to the completion of an evaluation process; - To expose students to diverse practical examples of evaluation findings highlighting the values and ideology underlying different evaluation approaches; - To enable students to develop a critical outlook to the use and misuse of evaluation, and to the use and misuse of evaluation findings. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Describe and explain the use of applied systematic inquiry in programme evaluation and its relationship to professional practice in the social sector; - Define and interpret meta-theoretical issues that determine different social work, social administration and social policy evaluation methods and approaches; - Illustrate and appraise the ethics of evaluation, and to design and implement an evaluation project that fully respects all ethical principles of social research; - Discuss and apply the logic of evaluation design, including the use of sampling, the use of experimental and quasi-experimental designs, and the use of single-subject designs; - Differentiate the terms reliability and validity and their application to diverse evaluation strategies and designs; - Describe and apply different modes of observation used in the evaluation of social programmes, including the use of surveys, methods of field evaluation, and unobtrusive evaluation methods; - Use basic methods of data analysis and statistical measures of description, association, and significance; - Interpret and critique the social context of social work, social administration, and social policy evaluation, and the social and political influences that affect the process of social work, social administration, and social policy evaluation; - Recognise minority, disability, and gender issues in evaluation and integrate such understanding in the development of evaluation practices that are sensitive to minority, disability, and gender issues. 2. Skills By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Compare and contrast quantitative and qualitative approaches to programme evaluation, describing the relative strengths and limitations of different approaches; - Engage stakeholders in designing and executing an evaluation project; - Formulate an evaluation question and design appropriate instruments of measurement that may be used to answer the evaluation question; - Complete an evaluation proposal for evaluating an agency based social programme; - Review, describe, discuss, evaluate and critically appraise selected contemporary evaluation studies of social programmes and policies; - Use library resources and the internet in developing a scholarly and professional approach to the practice of evaluation; - Pursue individualised learning needs, directly reflective of social work, social administration and social policy evaluation, and to share the results of continued learning. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: Required Texts - Owen, J. M. (2007). Program evaluation: Forms and approaches. London: The Guilford Press. - Rossi, P. H., Lipsey, M. W., & Freeman, H. E. (2004). Evaluation: A systematic approach (7th ed.). London: SAGE Publications. - Wholey, J. S., Hatry, H. P., & Newcomer, K. E. (Eds.). (2010). -Handbook of practical program evaluation (3rd. Ed). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Highly Recommended Texts - Shaw, I., Greene, J., & Mark, M. (2006). The SAGE handbook of evaluation. London: SAGE Publications. - Wholey, J. S., Hatry, H. P., & Newcomer, K. E. (Eds.). (2010). Handbook of practical program evaluation (3rd. Ed). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. - Yarbrough, D. B., Shulha, L. M., Hopson, R. K., & Caruthers, F. A. (2011). The programm evaluation standards: A guide for evaluators and evaluation users (3rd ed.). London: SAGE Publications. |
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| ADDITIONAL NOTES | Pre-Requisite Study-units: SWP2311 and SWP2321 | ||||||||||||||||
| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture | ||||||||||||||||
| METHOD OF ASSESSMENT |
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| LECTURER/S | Edel Cassar Edgar Galea Curmi |
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2024/5. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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