Internal Evaluation, Historically Speaking

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Bibliographic Details
Title: Internal Evaluation, Historically Speaking
Language: English
Authors: Mathison, Sandra
Source: New Directions for Evaluation. Win 2011 (132):13-23.
Availability: Jossey-Bass. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774. Tel: 800-825-7550; Tel: 201-748-6645; Fax: 201-748-6021; e-mail: subinfo@wiley.com; Web site: http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/browse/?type=JOURNAL
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 11
Publication Date: 2011
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Evaluative
Descriptors: Program Evaluation, Accountability, Public Administration, Political Attitudes, Trend Analysis, Cost Effectiveness, Evaluation Methods, Self Evaluation (Groups), Organizational Effectiveness, Policy Formation, Policy Analysis, Administrative Policy, Administrative Principles, Public Policy, Public Sector, Federal Programs, United States History, Outsourcing, Federal Regulation
Geographic Terms: Australia, Canada, France, United Kingdom, United States
Laws, Policies and Program Identifiers: Government Performance and Results Act 1993, No Child Left Behind Act 2001
DOI: 10.1002/ev.393
ISSN: 1097-6736
Abstract: The author analyzes the growth and nature of internal evaluation from the 1960s to the present and suggests that internal evaluation has been on the increase because of its perceived importance. Although the 1960s were characterized by a rich intellectual development of evaluation theory and practice, the fiscal conservatism of the 1980s ushered in evaluation practice focused more specifically on cost effectiveness. During that time, internal evaluation began to increase. In the 1990s this trend continued and was intensified by the reinvention of government known as the New Public Management. The author argues that in this results-oriented neoliberal context, evaluation is maintained as an internal function, but focuses primarily on descriptive accounts of performance. The chapter concludes with some speculation about the nature of future internal evaluation. (Contains 1 figure.)
Abstractor: As Provided
Number of References: 35
Entry Date: 2012
Accession Number: EJ952782
Database: ERIC
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