Exploring How Organizational Actors Experience Evaluation and Its Influence: A Q-Methodological Study

Abstract

This article contributes to research on evaluation by examining how organizational actors respond to and use evaluation imposed on them within an evaluation system. Drawing on Henry and Mark's theory of evaluation influence, this study uses Q-methodology to explore how staff within English higher education providers experience evaluation and its influence on their widening participation practice and strategy decision-making. The experiences of organizational actors are examined and classified into four types: strategic practitioners, pragmatic practitioners, staff with indirect involvement in widening participation, and evaluation enthusiasts. Through analyzing these experiences, the findings illustrate the diverse ways organizational actors are influenced by evaluation within evaluation systems. To deepen our understanding of evaluation influence in the contexts of evaluation systems, this article recommends explicitly embedding organizational theories into future theories of evaluation influence and provides suggestions for future research on the topic.