Negotiating solidarity between indigenous and transformative paradigms in evaluation

Cram, Fiona; Mertens, Donna M.

doi:10.18296/em.0015

Cited by 40 publications

(43 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…They have been misrepresented by researchers in the past and in their experience, research and evaluation have not resulted in positive change. These views are recognised by Mertens (2015, in Cram & Mertens, 2016. The stories I heard, and my own experiences as an evaluator in communities like this, led me to explore the concept and implications of place, why it matters, and how we might respond as evaluators.…”

Section: Navigating Place In Evaluation Design and Practicementioning

confidence: 88%

Navigating "place" in evaluation design and practice

Dignan¹

2017

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To feel a sense of place is a fundamental human need and in order to understand people's experiences, it is critical to understand their place. This is particularly important in the rural, bicultural communities of Aotearoa New Zealand, many of which have not been well served by research and evaluation. Place consciousness is not a new concept in evaluation theory, particularly as an aspect of cultural and contextual responsiveness. However, the concept of place is not easily defined or well articulated in relation to evaluation theory and practice. This article reflects on the findings of the author's 2014 literature review, which focused on the concept of place and its implications for evaluation design. The author promotes a place-conscious approach to evaluation that recognises and honours features of the places where people live their lives. A place-conscious evaluation requires evaluators to consciously assess the implications of place and pay explicit attention to place-connected knowledge. It provides a foundation for evaluators to work collaboratively with communities to enhance evaluative thinking and develop more meaningful, relevant, and useful evaluation insights as a basis for positive action.

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Section: Navigating Place In Evaluation Design and Practicementioning

confidence: 88%

Navigating "place" in evaluation design and practice

Dignan¹

2017

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“…This epistemology (and attendant ethic) has been propounded by Indigenous scholars across the globe (e.g., Arko-Achemfuor & Dzansi, 2015; Chilisa, 2012Chilisa, , 2017Kovach, 2009;Letseka, 2012;Smith, 2012). And, as noted by Cram and Mertens (2016), there is much scope for negotiating solidarity between Indigenous and transformative-oriented research, as both are committed to exploring "versions of reality" that can lead to constructive transformation towards more social and ecological justice. As Mertens clarifies: "there are consequences associated with accepting one version of reality over another" (2017, p. 21).…”

Section: Premises Of This Article and The Structuring Of Our Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Academic-practitioner collaboration with communities towards social and ecological transformation

Arko-Achemfuor

Romm

2019

International Journal for Transformative Research

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In this article we offer a discussion around our academic-practitioner involvements with one another and with a targeted community, in relation to a particular project. In the title of the article, we have hyphenated the term academic-practitioner to render fuzzy the distinction between “academic” roles (associated with institutions of higher learning and with professional research) and the roles of “practitioners” operating and learning in the field in engagement with communities. In the article we detail our collaborations with one another and with a farming community in all undertaking (co)inquiries around options for social and ecological development. We explain how this fits the epistemological views as offered by Indigenous authors propounding an Indigenous research paradigm (with transformative intent) to generate visions of realities in-the-making, towards enhanced wellbeing in communities and towards a sustainable future. We provide a detailed example in the course of our deliberations.

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“…A key issue for evaluators is to ensure that their evaluations with Indigenous people result in authentic representations of those people, avoiding stereotypes and acknowledging the role of past injustices in creating and sustaining the position of many Indigenous peoples today (Cram & Mertens, ; LaFrance, ). All too often, Indigenous peoples live on the margins of society, having experienced the redistribution or the disposal of their resources (e.g., land, water, language, religion, knowledge, sovereignty) by newcomers to their lands.…”

Section: Why Indigenous Evaluation?mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Research and evaluation protocols that spell out the need for respectful engagement with Indigenous peoples often try to put into non‐spirit terms the importance of proper spirit‐related protocols. However, for many Indigenous peoples the roots of these protocols are in the recognition of the sacred spirit present in all things (Cram & Mertens, ; Weber‐Pillwax, ).…”

Section: What Is Indigenous Evaluation?mentioning

confidence: 99%