Participatory and Inclusive Approaches to Disability Program Evaluation

Abstract

Some evaluations of disability programs now apply participatory methods to include people with cognitive disability in the collection of data. However, more inclusive approaches that engage people with cognitive disability more fully in the decisions about the evaluation remain rare. We examined why this may be the case, using Weaver and Cousin's criteria for inclusive evaluation to measure the depth of inclusion of our methods in an evaluation that we did that included people with cognitive disability. We found that the participatory methods in the design supported some of the dimensions of inclusive evaluation–diversity, depth of participation, power relations, and manageability. Relying on other people to represent the interests of people with cognitive disability in the governance, data collection, and dissemination compromised the control dimension of inclusion. Resources and commitment to build the capacity of people with cognitive disability as team members, mentors, advisers, and direct participants is required to make inclusion feasible and an expectation in disability program evaluations.

如今，一些残障评估项目也将参与式方法应用于认知障碍患者的资料搜集上。不过，将认知残障者纳入评估的、更全面的方法尚不多见。本文考察了为什么会有这种情况，我们使用维尔和库欣的全面评估标准，衡量了我们的方法用于认知残障评估的深度。研究发现，设计的参与式方法支持全面评估的某些方面——多样性、参与深度、权力关系、可管理性等等。依靠他人来代表认知残障者在治理、资料收集及传播方面的利益，包含了控制的一面。要使接纳在残障计划评估中可行、可期待，那就需要有资源、有担待，培养认知残障者作为队员、指导员、参谋以及直接参与者的能力。

Keywords:

• Disability Policy
• Inclusive Research
• Transformative Evaluation
• Participatory Methods
• Reflective Practice