Chapter 32: Teaching Program Evaluation

Program evaluation is fundamental to professional preparation in educational psychology. Students who will work as educational psychologists will rely on assessments, measurement, and evaluation to improve their knowledge of issues related to teaching and learning. An important aspect of developing this knowledge lies in evaluating the impact and outcomes of interventions, teaching methods, classroom environments, student behavior, and other factors. Program evaluations are especially important because they provide opportunities for empirically based discussions of essential elements of an educational program, curriculum, or intervention. While there is high demand for program evaluation experts, education programs specializing in program evaluation training are limited (Christie, Quinones, & Fierro, 2013). Often, educational programs that identify themselves as having an emphasis in program evaluation are housed within a larger discipline—typically, educational psychology (Dewey, Montrose, Schroter, Sullins, & Mattox, 2008). The goal of this chapter is to describe: (1) essential evaluation competencies; (2) challenges of preparing students to carry out program evaluation studies; and (3) several promising classroom practices and practical experiences that will assist those faculty who prepare students for careers as evaluators.