“…However, I have also aimed to illustrate in this article that processes of 'knowing self' and 'mindfully tracking self' facilitate an essential shift towards understanding the perceptual frame of others, and towards working empathically and effectively with ethical issues at every stage, in particular with the impact of key areas of 'difference' and 'positioning' (Symonette, 2009). I have sought to respect, privilege and represent the 'voice' of all the young people to a wider audience through also respecting my own 'expert knowing', however partial and tentative this must inevitably be.…”
This article draws on the author's experience of a narrative inquiry project with young people who were designated within the policy context in Scotland as at risk of social exclusion and in need of 'More Choices, More Chances'. The project explored how the young people's narratives of transition integrated the concept of 'critical moments', namely how the complex interplay between self and social structures was seen to be embedded at key transitional stages. The relevance of professional support was also examined through engaging with themes of identity construction and inclusion at these 'moments', and through highlighting choices and constraints to choice as the overarching theme.This article focuses on the methodological dimensions of the research through the lens of ethical practice and social justice, interrogating notions of researcher reflexivity, empowerment, authenticity and transferability in accessing and representing the marginalized 'voices' of the participants, and exploring the ethical dilemmas which arose in this process. The use of visual tools to prompt and represent the young people's narratives is examined in the light of the interweaving of substantive and participatory aims. In conclusion key questions are posed in relation to how far the research may contribute to a social justice agenda.
“…However, I have also aimed to illustrate in this article that processes of 'knowing self' and 'mindfully tracking self' facilitate an essential shift towards understanding the perceptual frame of others, and towards working empathically and effectively with ethical issues at every stage, in particular with the impact of key areas of 'difference' and 'positioning' (Symonette, 2009). I have sought to respect, privilege and represent the 'voice' of all the young people to a wider audience through also respecting my own 'expert knowing', however partial and tentative this must inevitably be.…”
This article draws on the author's experience of a narrative inquiry project with young people who were designated within the policy context in Scotland as at risk of social exclusion and in need of 'More Choices, More Chances'. The project explored how the young people's narratives of transition integrated the concept of 'critical moments', namely how the complex interplay between self and social structures was seen to be embedded at key transitional stages. The relevance of professional support was also examined through engaging with themes of identity construction and inclusion at these 'moments', and through highlighting choices and constraints to choice as the overarching theme.This article focuses on the methodological dimensions of the research through the lens of ethical practice and social justice, interrogating notions of researcher reflexivity, empowerment, authenticity and transferability in accessing and representing the marginalized 'voices' of the participants, and exploring the ethical dilemmas which arose in this process. The use of visual tools to prompt and represent the young people's narratives is examined in the light of the interweaving of substantive and participatory aims. In conclusion key questions are posed in relation to how far the research may contribute to a social justice agenda.
“…We lead processes to generate recommendations that endorse or repudiate how societal resources are distributed and to whom. These judgment‐making responsibilities place us among society's privileged authorities (Hall, 2020; Kirkhart, 2015; Symonette, 2008). Johnson (2001) notes: Privilege grants the cultural authority to make judgments about others and to have those judgments stick.…”
Section: Evaluators As Privileged Participants In Evaluationmentioning
Twenty-first century evaluators face an imperative to recognize their privileged role in navigating socially complex terrain in ways that are ethical, demonstrate sensitivity to local and global social inequities, and reflect awareness of contested views of reality. Social justice and equity are increasingly viewed as a foundation of practice, necessitating that evaluators learn how to address potential power imbalances occurring within evaluations, the larger contexts in which those evaluations occur, and the emerging profession itself. This chapter addresses how the 2018 American Evaluation Association (AEA) Evaluator Competencies may help evaluators direct explicit attention to issues of power, privilege, and equity. We discuss how these competencies can aid evaluators in honing their practice to support evaluation' s role in attaining social justice. We also spotlight some programmatic exemplars that offer insights and resources for this work.
“…CR evaluators plan for a process of learning rather than judging, consider the multicultural validity of findings, and report findings that diverse stakeholders care about and from which sound decisions can be made. Symonette (2004Symonette ( , 2009 argues that excellence in cultivating cultural competence in evaluation demands embracing both an inside-out orientation and an outside-in orientation. In inside-out orientations, evaluators are aware of the strengths/gifts, limits/constraints, and perceptual, conceptual, and interpretive prism that they bring into particular situational, relational, or spatial/geographic contexts.…”
Section: Strategies For Increasing Cultural Responsivenessmentioning
The authors of this article each bring a different theoretical background to their evaluation practice. The first author has a background of attention to culturally responsive evaluation (CRE), while the second author has a background of attention to systems theories and their application to evaluation. Both have had their own evolution of thinking and application of their respective conceptual traditions over the last 20þ years, influenced considerably by their involvement in the American Evaluation Association. They recently worked together to build evaluation capacity among evaluators of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education programs, in which they explored how these two conceptual and theoretical paths connect. In this article, the authors present their current thinking about the relationship between CRE and systems-oriented evaluation. In a case example, they illustrate the value of integrating the two perspectives to determine the guiding questions for an evaluation of a STEM education project.
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