ABSTRACT
This chapter looks at evaluation in the context of legal education and also its role in shaping and informing ‘law practice’ and legal organisations. ‘Evaluation’ is the critical process by which a program or service is examined to measure a range of factors through evidence. It can include whether it is effective and/or efficient, whether its aims and outcomes are positive, what works well, and why or why not, or whether the program or service is achieving its objectives. Evaluation can inform future delivery. The operationalization of these approaches should be the subject of critical thinking through the use of research and evaluation, in order to determine their effectiveness in terms of quality, reach, impact, educational outcomes and learning and to ensure what people do has an evidence base. ‘Embedded evaluation’ means that the evaluation process is the underpinning of the program from the beginning; meaning comparisons can be made over time about the program or service's intervention.
