Integration of Social Justice Into the Teaching of Evaluation

Abstract

This article argues that social justice should be included in evaluation education as a fundamental value in evaluation practice. A social justice orientation will provide students with a perspective that will enable them to challenge existing evaluation hegemonic ontological, epistemological, theoretical, and methodological practices that diminish groups at the margins of society and normalize injustice. We suggest four major areas where educators can intersect social justice and evaluation in classroom and field experiences. These include intersecting social justice with evaluation (a) theoretical knowledge, (b) methodological knowledge, (c) interpersonal knowledge, and (d) professionalism. Further, we maintain that a social justice orientation can be evident in pedagogical approaches and the professors’ articulation of students’ expected learning outcomes. Selected readings and various activities are provided that educators can utilize to integrate social justice, evaluation theory, and methodology in graduate training in an effort to produce a more critical evaluator.