Discussion 2:
Blog: Evaluator Credibility
Special
Education:
Person
of Interest: Dr. Susan Lang; Director of Special Education for the school
district Cumberland Pa.
Setting:
IEP meeting for a child that has Cerebral palsy;
Dr. Lang is the Director
of Special Education attend a meeting for a child that has Cerebral Palsy along
with mom and dad, Special Ed teacher, vice principal, psychologist, and
behavioral specialist. Mom concerns were that her son was not exploring his
potential academically. Mom states that her son sits in a class room and
watches other student learn life skills and do different activities. Dr. Lang
acknowledges mom’s concern and wants to make the community aware of the
community, and that can learn different life skills. According to Dr. Cram from
Laureate Education (2012) states that, credibility is about our connectedness;
how we form a relationship with that organization or community and how we talk
about different roles, our responsibilities, our track record and how we’re
going to proceed with the evaluation. Therefore, the perceived credibility of
the evaluator can shape stakeholders’ willingness both to participate
meaningfully in evaluation processes and to endorse evaluation products
(Yarbrough, Shulha, Hopson, & Caruthers, 2011).
According to Yarbrough,
Shulh, Hopson & Caruthers (2011) states that Credible Evaluators assess
this fit at the outset of the evaluation and continue to monitor it throughout
the process. For example, Special Ed teachers should transfer skills to the
teacher aid for each student with Cerebral Palsy have the opportunity to
experience the training of life skills. The lack of connectedness and
relationship with the community can affect the ability of students with
Cerebral Palsy not achieve or feel less of a person. According to Dr. Cram
(2012) states what within a method needs is to be able to implement as the core
components for that method of connectedness to have fidelity. An evaluator’s
credibility affects evaluation and how those methods can be tailored to the community
(Dr. Cram, 2012)Therefore, evaluation works for communities using the methods
that a community wants to use and will work with the community with children
with special needs (Dr. Cram, 2012).
Reference:
Dr. Cram, F. L. (Director). (2012). Voice from the
field Evaluator Credibility [Motion Picture].
Yarbrough, D., Shulha, L., Hopson,
R., & Caruthers, F. (2011). The Program Evaluation Standards. Los
Angeles: Sage.
Darrell Salla,
Darrell,
ReplyDeleteWhen the evaluating a special education program, the evaluator must be credible and competent in the area of special education ( Yarbrough, Hopson, and Caruther, 2011). Dr. Lang, director of special education, has the knowledge to conduct an evaluation. In your scenario, do you believe that Dr. Lang could create activities within the school that could enhance the motor skills of the cerebral palsy student?
Reference:
Yarbrough, D., Shulha, L., Hopson, R., & Caruthers, F. (2011). The Program Evaluation Standards. Los Angeles: Sage.
Hi Teresa,
ReplyDeleteExcellent question, I do believe this is possible but the problem is funding. The budget is a problem in many district therefore, evaluation are limited not because of lack of the evaluator is not credible and competent( Yarbrough, Hopson, and Caruther, 2011). Funding has played a major role of limitations.
Reference:
Yarbrough, D., Shulha, L., Hopson, R., & Caruthers, F. (2011). The Program Evaluation Standards. Los Angeles: Sage.
Hi Darrell,
ReplyDeleteIt seems that Dr. Lang's background would make her a credible evaluator, but may have a bias in this situation. She seems to be using this opportunity to create community awareness for learners with Cerebral Palsy. Yarbrough, Shulha, Hopson, & Caruthers (2011) recognizes that an evaluator's intentions must be trustworthy for the evaluator to be credible (p. 15). Do you think that Dr. Lang came to the meeting with the intent of evaluating the program or educating the community?
Reference:
Yarbrough, D. B., Shulha, L. M., Hopson, R. K., & Caruthers, F. A. (2011). The program evaluation standards: A guide for evaluators and evaluation users. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.