 The criticality of language: Exploring STEM education evaluators conceptualizations of equity, diversity, and inclusion and the influence on their roles and practiceCherie M. Avent Evaluation and Program Planning, 2025, vol. 108, issue C Abstract: Language is critical in evaluation. It influences understanding of goal attainment, judgments made about the quality of a program, interactions between stakeholder groups, interpretation of findings, and future actions. This paper reports research on language that unearths complexities related to the agenda of diversifying STEM and the utilization of evaluation in achieving its goal through an examination of STEM education evaluators’ conceptualizations of diversity, equity, and inclusion and the implications for their practice. Data was collected via semi-structured interviews. Findings revealed (1) the multifaceted nature of terms such as equity, diversity, and inclusion, (2) the role of an evaluator is not singular, and (3) the importance of surfacing the ways in which language is both value-laden and socially shaping for potentially disrupting one’s knowledge of status quo injustices. Keywords: STEM education evaluation; Conceptualizations; Equity; Diversity; Inclusion (search for similar items in EconPapers) Downloads: (external link) Related works: Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:epplan:v:108:y:2025:i:c:s0149718924001137 DOI: 10.1016/j.evalprogplan.2024.102511 Access Statistics for this article Evaluation and Program Planning is currently edited by Jonathan A. Morell More articles in Evaluation and Program Planning from Elsevier |
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