Minority issues in evaluation revisited: re-conceptualizing and creating opportunities for institutional change

Abstract

This paper, while a commentary on Professor Stanfield’s plenary presentation, is as much a critique of how evaluation researchers, the larger profession, and professional organizations come to terms with research on, issues about, and interests that impact people (and scholars) of color. First, I suggest that we revisit minority issues within a broader context of our American educational and social structure. Second, I focus on ways to create institutional change, such as through recruiting and mentoring junior evaluation researchers of color and from other underrepresented groups. Hardly complete, the ideas in this commentary are intended to highlight encouraging vehicles and initiatives from other educational scholars and peer associations, in the hope of contributing to the rethinking of minority issues in evaluation.