CURRENT DEBATE

A recent surge of scholastic activity (with a ripple of controversy) has become evident with the publication of a recent issue of the American Journal for Evaluation and the release of Empowerment Evaluation Principles in Practice.  This current discussion is highlighted below.

Empowerment evaluation continues to crystallize central issues for evaluators and the field of evaluation.

In a recent article in the American Journal of Evaluation, Fetterman and Wandersman responded to a recent series of critiques in an effort to enhance conceptual clarity, provide greater methodological specificity, and highlight empowerment evaluation's comitment to accountability and producing outcomes.

See Fetterman, D. and Wandersman, A. (2007).  Empowerment evaluation:  Yesterday, today, and tomorrowAmerican Journal of Evaluation, 28(2), 179-198. [The most accessed American Journal of Evaluation article online from November 2007 to November 2008.]

Fetterman and Wandersman's article was a response to a series of critiques, including review of their recent book Empowerment Evaluation Principles in Practice.  The following articles were largely the stimulus for this response.

Cousins, J.B. (2005). Will the real empowerment evaluation please stand up?  A critical friend perspective.  In D.M. Fetterman & A. Wandersman (Eds.), Empowerment Evaluation Principles in Practice (pp. 183-208).  New York:  Guilford.

Miller, R.L. and Campbell, R. (2006).  Taking stock of empowerment evaluation:  An empirical review.  American Journal of Evaluation, 27(9), 296-319.

Patton, M. (2005).  Toward distinguishing empowerment evaluation and placing it in a larger context:  Take two.  American Journal of Evaluation, 26, 408-414.

Scriven, M. (2005). Review of the book:  Empowerment Evaluation Principles in Practice, 26(3), 415-417.

Smith, N.L. (2007). Empowerment Evaluation as Evaluation Ideology.  American Journal of Evaluation, 28(2), 169-178.