Contemporary perspectives in the evaluation of practice

This article is based on a review of British publications particularly in the period 1995-99. It presents a critical analysis of each contemporary evaluation research perspective in its relation to the evaluation of practice. This review classifies the main contemporary perspectives as empirical practice; pragmatism of methodological-pluralism; inter-pretivist approaches; and post-positivist approaches such as scientific realism. This review is not from the standpoint of philosophical positions alone; rather, it is on the applied basis of what contribution each of the perspectives can make in the evaluation of practice. The author presents the emerging realist evaluation (or scientific realism) as a paradigm that is inclusive of the other main perspectives addressed in this review, thereby providing a holistic approach to the evaluation of practice.