| 1. |
- Benerdal, Malin, Doktor, 1984-, et al.
(författare)
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Democratic values in evaluation systems – a circle that can be squared?
- 2021
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Ingår i: Scandinavian Journal of Public Administration. - : Göteborgs universitet. - 2001-7405 .- 2001-7413. ; 25:3/4, s. 63-83
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This paper is concerned with the interlocking of democratic values and evaluation systems. A central issue in evaluation has been adherence to democratic values by speaking truth to power or taking an inclusive approach to evaluands. In parallel with these democratic endeavours, evaluation design has increasingly moved from ad-hoc evaluations toward evaluation systems. The question we raise in this paper is how compatible the democratic endeavours of evaluation are with the rise of evaluation systems as the modus operandi. We apply this question to the case of the Swedish school system and its built-in evaluation system: systematic quality work (SQW). In order to explore the research question, school principals were asked to articulate how the democratic mission is visible in their SQW. The results indicate that prominent managing logics at different school levels seem to affect how well democratic values are incorporated into the SQW, highlighting the need to address the institutional and governing setting of evaluation systems in combination with the actors’ roles and decisions in accordance with the democratic evaluation literature.
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| 2. |
- Benerdal, Malin, 1984-
(författare)
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Exploring Evaluation Policy : as a process, concept and activity
- 2013
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- The concept of evaluation policy usually refers to "the way to do evaluations" in line with SIDA's (Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency) strategy for conducting evaluations (SIDA 1999; 2012). This way of framing evaluation policy is in my experience, the most common way to think of the concept. A strategic and written plan for how evaluations should be conducted. That is, policy is the product of authoritative decision making and the policy work contains the implementation of this decision. However, this is not the only way to view evaluation policy, and a few years back New Directions for Evaluation devoted a special issue to highlight evaluation policy. With scholars such as Mark, Cooksy, Trochim and Chelimsky (2009) arguing for the need of a "fresh look on evaluation policy" and especially the intimate relation with the evaluation practice (Trochim 2009). Although this sounds like an attempting and promising opening for a debate, these scholars have not adequately addressed the issue of evaluation policy by focusing solely on the hierarchy of policy-making, thus ignoring the vertical dimension of evaluation policy, which is highly relevant to develop a deeper understanding of the making of evaluation policy. My paper addresses the issue of making evaluation policy and with special attention to the vertical and horizontal dimension, emanating from the understanding of policy as a contested, interactive process and activity of many hands. Specifically, in my PhD-project, I will be looking at the making of evaluation policy in the education field, a frequently evaluated domain. This paper will be devoted to the discussion of the concept of evaluation policy and the different dimensions of policy, that is the vertical and horizontal aspect (Colebatch 1998) with examples of evaluation policies from the educational field. This also involves evaluation steering which affect and constitute the conditions for how the evaluation practice can evolve (Hanberger 2013; Foss Hansen 2013). Hence, this sheds light on the constant question of power in evaluation policy. I argue that evaluation policy is an important concept that needs a different or more inclusive approach emerging from the literature on policy work. It also has to be recognized that the practice of evaluation policy is not so much about implementing an already formulated evaluation policy, but rather about creating evaluation policies which is a process of social construction, of collective sense making. In conclusion, this project, by closely examining evaluation policy, sheds new light on the processes of making evaluation policy, and how this can be researched.
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| 3. |
- Benerdal, Malin, 1984-
(författare)
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From local conditionality to complexity reductionism? Exploring national evaluation policy in educational reforms in Sweden
- 2016
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Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The demand for evaluation and monitoring in governance is well known. A development that has taken different forms in different countries, this paper focusing on Sweden and the educational sector. Even though evaluation is an old practice within the government of Sweden, different times have called for different kinds of evaluation (see e.g. Vedung 2010). In the late 1980s the governing of the education system was reformed to a system of management by objectives and results, hence demanding new functions for evaluation in the governing of education. This could be seen as a shift into governing by evaluation (see Foss Hansen 2013). But how this takes shape can be expected to be a constant struggle since the question of what evaluation is, and should be, in a specific governing setting is a political question in a world of symbols, ideologies and power relations (Hanberger 2012). Therefore, how evaluation is perceived, what is being evaluated and how and whom having a voice are matters concerning governing of evaluation. The argument here being that by focusing on, and scrutinizing, evaluation policy these kinds of questions can be explored, questioned and possibly criticized. With evaluation policy being defined as the formal and informal rules, routines and norms that is used to shape, conduct or change decisions and actions regarding evaluation. This means that both explicit and implicit evaluation policy can be studied.The aim of the paper is to explore and describe how evaluation policy is formed and steered within the educational sector in Sweden during two periods of intense educational reforms (1988-1994 and 2008-2014). Drawing on a policy design framework different design elements is identified from empirical material such as governmental and educational agencies documents, and by mapping of evaluation systems and evaluations conducted by responsible agencies. The analysis show that the amount of evaluations and evaluation systems has increased over the years. Today, the Swedish education system rely extensively on evaluations of different kinds as a way to control and enhance quality and performance in education and schooling but also to enable competition and support school choice on the Swedish education market. But while more measuring and evaluation could possibly widen the debate the preliminary results indicate that ‘complexity reductionism’ rather being the case. More performance measurements and use of indicators and to a larger extent relying on international student assessments to value the national educational system while stand-alone evaluations adhering to the complex nature of education taking the backseat. The preliminary findings thus indicate that evaluation policy could be one possible way to enhance our understanding of the relationship between evaluation and governance. Making it possible to question the role and function of evaluation in governance. And thus, to explore governance of and by evaluation.
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| 4. |
- Benerdal, Malin, 1984-
(författare)
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Immigrants as resources in times of depopulation? Local work and perspectives on immigrant’s establishment in rural areas
- 2020
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Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The reception and integration of immigrants has become a prioritized issue in Sweden, being one of the European countries receiving most asylum applications since 2014. For rural communities immigration can be a possible solution in reversing problems of population decline. At the same time the urbanisation rate of international migrants is very high while their employment rate in rural areas remains comparatively low (Hedlund et al, 2017). Increasing international immigration creates challenges for rural communities in organizing reception and activities to match immigrants to education and the local labour market. These challenges are not unique to rural areas, but the specificity of the rural have often been overseen in immigration establishment studies. Thus, this paper focuses not on the migrants and what they 'bring', but on the receiving municipalities and the local labour market which they are to settle in to. The aim of the paper is to explore a) how the rural municipalities are organizing and working in promoting immigrants establishment, through for example workplace learning and education, and b) actors on the local labour markets perceptions regarding possibilities and obstacles for immigrants establishment. The paper focuses on the understandings and practices in the municipalities work regarding immigrants and the labour markets in line with theories of policy work. Masseys (1994) theories of space, place and gender is also used since what is seen as possibilities and obstacles for immigrants' establishment and the activities created has to be seen in a cultural, material and historical context. The study is part of a larger project on integration and education of adult migrants in rural areas in three municipalities in the rural north of Sweden. Municipal policy documents are analyzed and interviews conducted with municipal actors organizing activities such as education and workplace learning. Possible and actual employers such as CEOs and company owners in the private sector and head teachers and unit managers in the public sector are also interviewed. Preliminary results indicate that all three municipalities are keen on keeping the immigrants and highlights possibilities of a 'demographic refill' for their communities. Through a regional actor different projects were launched targeting both immigrants and plausible employers. Interviews with actors on the local labour market indicates different attitudes towards employing immigrant personnel. Differences in perception also seems to reflect classical differences in the gendered labour market. The work of municipalities and perceptions and strategies on local labour market regarding immigrants establishments touches upon several issues of relevance for Nordic educational research such as formation of educational activities, workplace learning, education in rural areas as well as aspects of inclusion, power relationships, and formal and informal qualification demands affecting immigrants’ possibilities for learning and space of agency in the process of establishment.
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| 5. |
- Benerdal, Malin, Doktor, 1984-, et al.
(författare)
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Lokala aktörers arbete för integration i rurala områden
- 2021
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Ingår i: Arbetsmarknad & Arbetsliv. - Karlstad : Karlstads universitet. - 1400-9692 .- 2002-343X. ; 27:3, s. 45-64
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Integration och särskilt etablering på arbetsmarknaden för migranter står högt på dagordningen i den politiska debatten. I artikeln fokuseras centrala aktörers integrationsarbete i förhållande till nationella riktlinjer och lokala förutsättningar i tre rurala kommuner. Analysen visar att det huvudsakligen är det rurala i förhållande till det urbana som tycks avgörande för de tre kommunerna, samt att lokala innovativa lösningar nyttjas för att främja etablering och möjliggöra för migranter att stanna och verka på orten. Nationella riktlinjer tycks både verka som stimulerande drivkrafter och förhindrande, begränsande strukturer som är opålitliga och kortsiktiga i ett sammanhang där tidsperspektivet är centralt.
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| 6. |
- Benerdal, Malin, 1984-
(författare)
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Nationell utvärderingspolicy : utformning och förändring på grundskoleområdet 1988-2014
- 2019
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Evaluation has grown in both volume and scope across levels and sectors in recent decades, particularly in the school sector. Despite this growth, there is insufficient knowledge about how and in what ways evaluations are formed, institutionalized and used in education governance and education reforms. This thesis addresses some of these issues by studying evaluation policy. The aim of the thesis is to explore and analyse the design and possible changes in national evaluation policy in compulsory education during two periods of extensive education reforms (1988-1994 and 2008-2014).The theoretical framework builds on evaluation research and policy studies, particularly the literature on policy design. These two strands of literature are supplemented with additional analytical tools from historical institutionalism regarding policy change. Drawing on previous research, a definition of evaluation policy that incorporates the policy context and also enables studying an implicit policy is proposed. On the empirical level, the findings are based on official policy documents, material produced by national government agencies as well as evaluations and evaluation systems.The thesis shows that during the first period (1988-1994), the evaluation policy was characterized as a means of helping to implement the extensive reforms. Evaluations were to be conducted on all levels of the school system to promote development on each executive level. The policy design reflected evaluation as a learning and capacity-building tool. Schools and municipalities were positioned as owners and co-creators of evaluation knowledge. During the second period (2008-2014), the evaluation policy was partially revised in order to come to terms with inadequate evaluations and declining school results. The policy included more sanctions and hortatory tools, and more emphasis was placed on comparisons and rankings. The evaluation policy was based on the assumption that local actors should and will act on evaluative knowledge created by the agencies and international actors, and that they could be motivated to do so by the threat of, for example sanctions or issues of ranking and comparisons.The evaluation policy design was largely stable over time. However, three more incremental but significant changes were identified: i) the policy design element “agents and implementation structures” was altered, ii) the evaluation policy expanded and iii) became more directed towards national and external control. These changes also indicated more negative implications for democracy during the second period. In relation to evaluations’ democratic function the analysis showed that the evaluation policy mainly strengthened the legitimizing and controlling function, whereas the enlightenment function was not prominent.This implies a risk that issues that may be relevant from a broader democratic and societal perspective may be overlooked and not subjected to evaluation. The thesis also acknowledges and illustrates the importance of uncovering and reconstructing evaluation policies, policies that are partly veiled, since also implicit policies will have democratic implications.
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| 7. |
- Benerdal, Malin, Doktor, 1984-, et al.
(författare)
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Organising for collaboration with schools : experiences from six Swedish universities
- 2023
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Ingår i: Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research. - : Routledge. - 0031-3831 .- 1470-1170.
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Collaboration between universities and schools has been emphasised byboth governments and within educational development research in the Nordic countries. However, educational research has tended to focus onthe practitioners’ perspectives and experiences, i.e., researchers andteachers. Our intention is to contribute to the field with research from another perspective; that of organising for collaboration. This is done by focusing on the experiences of university representatives responsible for the organisation of collaboration within a Swedish nation-wide initiative,the ULF project. Our theoretical framework draws on the literature of partial organisation. The results indicate that the different approaches and solutions used by universities could not only potentially strengthen schools’ opportunities to participate in educational collaboration with universities but also lead to different opportunities, reinforcing previously existing differences between school organisers. The results are discussed in relation to governmental intentions and guidelines.
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| 8. |
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| 9. |
- Benerdal, Malin, Doktor, 1984-
(författare)
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Tailored workplace education for immigrants in Rural Sweden : working with resources and deficits
- 2021
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Ingår i: Journal of Education and Work. - : Routledge. - 1363-9080 .- 1469-9435. ; 34:2, s. 170-182
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Incorporation into the labour market is a key endeavour, of heightened importance in recent years due to high migration flows, for both immigrants and their recipient countries. Hence, activation and employability are major themes in both transnational and national policy discussions, which have generated various programmes and policy measures. This article focuses on one type of such initiatives: collaborative agreements intended to increase the effective establishment of newly arrived migrants through work-related educational tracks in Sweden. Drawing on post-structural policy analysis techniques and theorisation of place, the author analyses documents regarding associated policies, and views expressed by interviewed actors, in three rural municipalities. In efforts to identify hindrances and possibilities for immigrants’ incorporation in rural settings, potential employers’ perspectives are included. The analysis shows that a ‘resource discourse’ and a ‘deficit discourse’ are prevalent in the construction of the agreements and the employers’ perspectives regarding immigrants in the municipalities, place and tracks. It also shows that the municipal strategies differ in terms of organisation and local goals of the tracks. The indications of how place is constructed in local rural settings highlight the importance of such a perspective in efforts to enhance immigrants’ incorporation into the labour market, address deficits and harness resources.
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| 10. |
- Benerdal, Malin, 1984-
(författare)
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The role of Evaluation in Educational Policymaking : a historical approach to the Swedish Case
- 2014
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Evaluation is assumed to support democratic governance and promote accountability and policy and program improvement (Boswell 2009; Chelimsky 1995; Hanberger 2006; 2012; Pollitt 2006; Weiss et al. 2005). Thus, from this perspective evaluation is conceived as a governing tool or a governing technique. It could be assumed that different modes of governing require different roles concerning types of evaluations and evaluative knowledge, however empirical investigations is by no means plentiful on this respect and thus needs further studying. Also, evaluation has mostly been regarded as one of many different governing techniques. Lately, however, scholars are raising the issue of systemic evaluation governance (Hansen 2013) which also brings an additional element to it.This paper discusses the role of evaluation in a specific policy area; Swedish education policy. Sweden has been criticized by OECD in lacking coherence among the different evaluation parts which also calls for an investigation of why and how the different parts of the evaluative functions have emerged and what demands they responded to, and how evaluation has been designed and governed. The paper will examine the purposes of evaluation in education governance by analyzing public policy documents, governmental investigations and previous research, focusing on the time after the Second World War and the building of a comprehensive school system. Different periods are identified on the basis of different modes of education governance. The paper will discuss the implications of the study results for the literature on evaluation governance.
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