Hello, I’m Goldie MacDonald and I represent the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on the Joint Committee on Standards for Educational Evaluation (JCSEE). I’m excited to share a favorite resource: The Qualitative Report (TQR) Weekly, which are curated emails from TQR editors with featured articles, podcasts and other job aids, training opportunities, and more. Recently, the featured article was Who Am I When I am Teaching? Self in Yoga Practice by Krzysztof T. Konecki at University of Lodz, Poland. Although I only dabble in yoga, I’m deeply interested in how we understand ourselves in personal and professional pursuits. The article led me to examine my JCSEE work in new ways.
JCSEE is the official source for evaluation standards in the U.S. and Canada and member organizations include the American Evaluation Association and Canadian Evaluation Society (CES), for example. Amid the diversity of contexts in which the PES are used, how can committee members (and others) best revise this content? In his article on self in yoga practice, Dr. Konecki explores (a) his transitions between identities (i.e., teacher, instructor, trainee, student, and researcher) and (b) shared learning with participants in the inquiry reported. Both processes can be instrumental to meaningful revisions to the PES.
In March, JCSEE members met in Atlanta, Georgia, to begin these revisions. After the CES conference in May, we convened for 12 hours of robust dialogue in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada. For example, we talked about how standards are differently understood, assumptions embedded in some standards, and items vital to evaluation practice today not prominent in previous versions. At different points, each participant would lead, teach, learn, or listen. In some moments, we laughed. I perceived camaraderie and excitement in cocreating an initial revision for review. Looking at my handwritten notes from our meeting, I see identities I’ve brought to this work and share those in Table 1.
| Identities | Examples: How Identities Show Up in Work to Revise the PES |
| Public Servant: I am a government employee and view my work as positively contributing to society. | Introduce considerations relevant to state, tribal, local, and territorial departments of health in the United States. |
| Idea Maker: I instinctively dissect content to create options for action. | Propose activities for wider participation in revisions. |
| Individual: I bring lived experiences and personal characteristics (visible and invisible) to work with others. | Identify noninclusive or objectifying language and introduce trauma sensitive language. |
| Plain Language Enthusiast: I am passionate about writing that is easy to read, understand, and use. | Apply plain language practices to revisions. |
| Evaluator and Applied Researcher: I use the PES and conducted research on standards use in public health. | Pinpoint revisions needed and share practice-based rationale for changes. |
| Colleague to Committee Members: I actively contribute to shared work to learn from peers and meet shared obligations. | Refer to existing version of standards in committee meetings to help us fully appreciate and understand past work. |
Certainly, bringing aspects of self to collaborative work can be challenging; not all environments create space for all identities. Dr. Konecki quotes Olga Tokarczuk: “Our inner chaos and confusion seem to be our most significant wealth.” Opportunities for practitioners to contribute to PES revisions are coming soon. As we work toward a usable and useful revision, interplay of experiences, identities, and perspectives can bring chaos and confusion to the process; this committee deeply understands these as assets.
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Disclaimer: The opinions and reflections expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the official position of the CDC.
This week, we’re diving the Program Evaluation Standards. Articles will (re)introduce you to the Standards and the Joint Committee on Standards for Educational Evaluation (JCSEE), the organization responsible for developing, reviewing, and approving evaluation standards in North America. Do you have questions, concerns, kudos, or content to extend this aea365 contribution? Please add them in the comments section for this post on the aea365 webpage so that we may enrich our community of practice. Would you like to submit an aea365 Tip? Please send a note of interest to aea365@eval.org. aea365 is sponsored by the American Evaluation Association and provides a Tip-a-Day by and for evaluators.