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Highlighting the value of impact evaluation : enhancing informal science learning and public engagement theory and practice
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Jensen, Eric (2015) Highlighting the value of impact evaluation : enhancing informal science learning and public engagement theory and practice. Journal of Science Communication, 14 (3).
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Official URL: https://jcom.sissa.it/archive/14/03/JCOM_1403_2015...
Abstract
King et al. [2015] argue that ‘emphasis on impact is obfuscating the valuable role of evaluation’ in informal science learning and public engagement (p. 1). The article touches on a number of important issues pertaining to the role of evaluation, informal learning, science communication and public engagement practice. In this critical response essay, I highlight the article’s tendency to construct a straw man version of ‘impact evaluation’ that is impossible to achieve, while exaggerating the value of simple forms of feedback-based evaluation exemplified in the article. I also identify a problematic tendency, evident in the article, to view the role of ‘impact evaluation’ in advocacy terms rather than as a means of improving practice. I go through the evaluation example presented in the article to highlight alternative, impact-oriented evaluation strategies, which would have addressed the targeted outcomes more appropriately than the methods used by King et al. [2015]. I conclude that impact evaluation can be much more widely deployed to deliver essential practical insights for informal learning and public engagement practitioners.
| Item Type: | Journal Item | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Subjects: | Q Science > Q Science (General) | ||||||
| Divisions: | Faculty of Social Sciences > Sociology | ||||||
| Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): | Communication in science -- Evaluation, Non-formal education, Community education | ||||||
| Journal or Publication Title: | Journal of Science Communication | ||||||
| Publisher: | Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati (SISSA) | ||||||
| ISSN: | 1824-2049 | ||||||
| Official Date: | 29 September 2015 | ||||||
| Dates: |
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| Volume: | 14 | ||||||
| Number: | 3 | ||||||
| Status: | Peer Reviewed | ||||||
| Publication Status: | Published | ||||||
| Access rights to Published version: | Open Access | ||||||
| Open Access Version: |
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