AES 2015 International Evaluation Conference

Kathryn Cairns (Centre for Program Evaluation), Janet Clinton (Centre for Program Evaluation), Lea Waters (Centre for Positive Psychology)

This paper will discuss the synergies between the philosophy, methods, and practice of evaluation and positive psychology. Evaluation has much to offer across the disciplines in supporting judgments of the merit, worth and significance, and has emerged as a transdiscipline, or the "Alpha Discipline" as Scriven (2004) contends. As evaluation moves into this new sphere, however, defining its boundaries, its foundation and its very system presents a challenge. Finding evaluation's foundation in existing paradigms may offer some calm in this storm. 

One such discipline is positive psychology. The discipline of positive psychology is a relatively young field, emerging in its contemporary form in the late 1990s when Martin Seligman advocated for a strengths-based approach to psychology. It delineates core virtues such as wisdom and knowledge, courage and justice (Peterson & Seligman, 2004) which have clear parallels with the Program Evaluation Standards (Yarbrough, Schulha, Hopson, and Caruthers, 2011). At the nexus of these fields is a guiding purpose of social betterment. 

Drawing on evaluation case studies, we will highlight the principles, methods and practices that positive psychology can bring to the practice of evaluation, to support collaborative evaluation practice. Program evaluation, like any deliberate inquiry process, is about learning. Over the past decade, the methods and frameworks for evaluation have evolved to emphasise collaborative processes, which involves corralling the voice of many stakeholders, distributing information widely, making systems visible and increasing organisational rigour. The principles of positive psychology can provide a framework for effective practice to support the achievement of these varied tasks.

Utilising  case examples, we will argue that evaluation and positive psychology have much to offer one another. The foundation of positive psychology may offer the new generation of evaluators an architecture within which to work, whilst the theories and methodologies of evaluation can support the young field of positive psychology to demonstrate its contributions in a rigorous and value-laden manner.