Bamber Veronica

"I congratulate the authors on what I believe will be a very interesting and useful book. The language is accessible and the structure of the argument is coherent and consistent... This is a very interesting and significant contribution to the field of higher education in general and scholarship in evaluative practices in particular." Judyth Sachs, Deputy Vice Chancellor and Provost at Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia. A considerable amount of time and effort is invested in attempts tocontrol, change and improve the higher education sector. Theseattempts involve evaluative practice, but we have not yetconceptualised the evaluations that take place so therefore theopportunity to understand the value and nature of different typesof intervention is frequently missed. This book seeks to dismantle traditional boundaries in approachesto evaluation, assessing how value and worth is attributed toactivities in higher education. It looks at evaluative practice inHigher Education rather than the evaluation of Higher Education. Reconceptualising Evaluative Practices in HE: The Practice Turn aims to aid understanding, drawing on a set of evaluative practices from the UK and internationally. The book will be of value and relevance to higher education providers and policy makers within higher education. ContributorsVeronica Bamber, Margo Blythman, Val Chapman, Bernadette Charlier, Rob Cuthbert, Harry Hubball, Kerri-Lee Krause, Neil Lent, Alan McCluskey, Ian McNay, Joan Machell, John M. Owen, Marion L. Pearson, Michael Prosser, Christoph Rosenbusch, Murray Saunders, Uwe Schmidt, Alison Shreeve, Paul Trowler, Massimiliano Vaira, Christine Winberg.

Higher education is a particularly complex site for enhancement initiatives. This book offers those involved in change a coherent conceptual overview of enhancement approaches, of the change context, and of the probable interactions between them. The book sets enhancement within a particular type of change dynamic which focuses on social practices. The aim is to base innovation and change on the probabilities of desired outcomes materializing, rather than on the romanticism of policies that underestimate the sheer difficulty of making a difference. Following a theoretical introduction to these ideas, there are case studies (from the UK, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Norway) at the national, institutional, departmental and individual levels, illustrating the argument that enhancement is best achieved when it works with social practices in real institutional and organizational settings. In a final section, the authors link the case examples and theoretical frameworks, inviting readers to consider their own enhancement situations and apply the 'frameworks for action' offered in earlier sections of the book. The book doesn’t offer quick-fix solutions but aims to support change with practical examples, conceptual tools and reflexive questions for those involved in change at all levels. It is key reading for higher education lecturers, managers, educational developers and policy makers.