Pragmatic Program Evaluation for Social Work

Book excerpt: "During the nearly half a century that I have been teaching courses on program evaluation I have not found a textbook that fit my course as well as I preferred. The main problem has been that some books cover too much research methods content that duplicates what students learn in their research methods courses, while other books don't have enough of that content. The problem is understandable, because program evaluation is carried out using research methods. Another reason why I have been dissatisfied with the books with heavy doses of research content is that so much of that content is pitched to wellfunded evaluations of national and international projects for which program evaluation is a key component of the program from its outset. Very sophisticated research designs are not only feasible in such projects, they are expected. Program evaluation in local social and human service agencies - where most of my students begin their careers - is unlike program evaluation in those projects in several important ways"--