INSTRUCTIONS
Part 1. Read through the Guiding Principles for Evaluators (Updated in 2018) from the American Evaluation Association – https://www.eval.org/About/Guiding-Principles
Part 2. Next, as a way to begin clarifying your own thinking about your philosophical beliefs and how they might influence the way you conduct an evaluation, briefly state your understanding of each of the following philosophical stances to program evaluation described in the Mertens & Wilson textbook (chapters 3, 4, 5, & 6), noting how each is related to the AEA’s Guiding Principles (updated in 2018)
Post-positivist paradigm and the methods branch (see Mertens & Wilson, Ch. 3)
Pragmatic paradigm and the use branch (see Mertens & Wilson, Ch. 4).
Constructivist paradigm and the values branch (see Mertens & Wilson, Ch. 5).
Transformative paradigm and the social justice branch (see Mertens & Wilson, Ch. 6).
Part 3: Identify key elements of your own philosophical beliefs about program evaluation, the approach or approaches you are more likely to use (i.e., paradigms, branches, theory-driven, evidence-based, stakeholder driven approaches) and why.
Expectations: 4-5 pages, APA style. Include title page and list of references (not part of page length).