ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a critical appraisal of what might be described as the white, male milieu of educational evaluation in Britain and the United States. It discusses education theories which offer challenges to conventional perceptions about educational research and evaluation. The chapter outlines principles and procedures for educational evaluators who see the reduction of social and educational inequalities as one of their main professional goals. It considers the strategies currently available to educational evaluators (for example, within TVEI) or in equal opportunities programmes or educational policy initiatives. Participatory evaluation is interactive in its approach. The model contains both qualitative and quantitative methodologies and is well suited for measurements of subtle and not-so-subtle changes. The chapter concludes with the suggestion that in certain cases, particularly where programmes include equal opportunities dimensions, 'social justice' evaluation may well be both desirable and feasible.
