Lyn Alderman
Biographic Data
| ID | 5452097 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Lyn Alderman |
| GIVEN NAMES | Lyn |
| FAMILY NAME | Alderman |
| SIGNATURE | ALDERMAN L |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba, QLD, Australia |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-6863-5633 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 14 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 13 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 14 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1935 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 2 |
The forgotten contexts of evaluation
Context is a well-discussed but still elusive concept in evaluation. The authors of this article acknowledge there is considerable literature on context in an evaluation setting, with multiple frameworks, theories and methodologies guided by context. However, the authors believe there is little practical and pragmatic guidance for evaluators regarding how to locate and determine what is contextually relevant. To address this gap, the authors have…
The Continuous Learning Framework: Applying accountability for widespread organisational change
This article introduces the Continuous Learning Framework for quality within higher education and other internal evaluation contexts. The framework maps the terrain of this special issue, and consists of four elements: accountability, improvement, performance and investment. The article briefly describes the evolution of the framework including its application to a government reform package, before focussing on its practical application within a …
Performance through the lens of evaluation: How to stretch evaluative thinking with strategic decision-making tools
Australian higher education continues to be plagued with decreases in funding and increases in regulation. This is leading to a reality within many universities where quality alone is not enough to consider academic programs viable and sustainable. Today, universities compete fiercely for students, as increasing or retaining market share is required to remain financially sound. Universities usually make these difficult decisions through an analys…
Evaluator Perspective
My name is Lyn Alderman and I hold the position of Professor and Dean (Academic Transformation) at the University of Southern Queensland. With over 40 years employment experience, I stepped into evaluation through a research higher degree pathway and found a home when I attended my first Australian Evaluation Association international conference in Perth in 2008 as a student. Since this time, I have been the President, Editor of the Evaluation Jo…
Scoping recent investment in evaluation education in Australian universities
This article explores the current evaluation education program opportunities in the Australian higher education market and identifies potential research areas to inform pathways for future investment. Findings from our initial scoping phase are provided as a prelude to future work required in this space. The overarching research question investigates whether there is an opportunity to deliver further evaluation education programs in Australian hi…
Course enhancement conversations: A holistic and collaborative evaluation approach to quality improvement in higher education
This practice article describes the use of collaborative evaluation for institutional improvement leading to continuous learning at a regional university in Australia. The University of Southern Queensland’s Academic Quality Framework (2019–2022) was developed in response to external drivers to improve practices relating to the comprehensive and systematic analysis of academic data. One aspect of the response was to introduce ‘course enhancement …
A Reflection on Critical Methodology: Accountability and Beneficiary Participative Evaluation in Third Sector Research
Enabled by the underpinnings of critical theory, this article discusses research methodology developed with the aim of empowering beneficiaries within Third Sector Organisations, through their participation in organisational evaluation processes. The discussion on methodology in this article occurs at three levels: conceptual , processual , and reflexive . The conceptual level explores ontological and epistemological assumptions that shape the cr…
Beyond Average: Contemporary statistical techniques for analysing student evaluations of teaching
Student evaluations of teaching (SETs) have been used to evaluate higher education teaching performance for decades. Reporting SET results often involves the extraction of an average for some set of course metrics, which facilitates the comparison of teaching teams across different organisational units. Here, we draw attention to ongoing problems with the naive application of this approach. Firstly, a specific average value may arise from data th…
Evaluation Perspectives
Illuminative Evaluation as a Method Applied to Australian Government Policy Borrowing and Implementation in Higher Education
Any government deciding to invoke widespread change in its higher education sector through implementation of new policies impacts on every institution and all staff and students, often in both the time taken up and the heightened emotions caused. The central phenomenon that this study addresses is the process and consequences of policy changes in higher education in Australia. The aim of this article is to record the research design through the p…
Context-sensitive evaluation: Determining the context surrounding the implementation of a government policy
This article explains the essence of the context-sensitive parameters and dimensions in play at the time of an intervention, through the application of Rog's (2012) model of contextual parameters. Rog's model offers evaluators a structured approach to examine an intervention. The initial study provided a systematic way to clarify the scope, variables, timing, and appropriate evaluation methodology to evaluate the implementation of a government po…
Reframing Evaluation of Learning and Teaching: An Approach to Change
This article is the second in a series 1 of three that describes the journey on which the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) embarked to redevelop our evaluation practices in the interest of improving the quality of learning and teaching. The article provides insights into: how the previous evaluation system operated and why it needed to change; the emergence and early development of the new project; and formulation of a conceptual framewo…
Adult Education: Integration of Adult Education: A Sociological Problem
Adult Education: Integration of Adult Education: A Sociological Problem." The Journal of Higher Education, 7(9), p. 506
Discussion Methods for Adult Groups
Context-sensitive evaluation: Determining the context surrounding the implementation of a government policy
This article explains the essence of the context-sensitive parameters and dimensions in play at the time of an intervention, through the application of Rog's (2012) model of contextual parameters. Rog's model offers evaluators a structured approach to examine an intervention. The initial study provided a systematic way to clarify the scope, variables, timing, and appropriate evaluation methodology to evaluate the implementation of a government po…
Performance through the lens of evaluation: How to stretch evaluative thinking with strategic decision-making tools
Australian higher education continues to be plagued with decreases in funding and increases in regulation. This is leading to a reality within many universities where quality alone is not enough to consider academic programs viable and sustainable. Today, universities compete fiercely for students, as increasing or retaining market share is required to remain financially sound. Universities usually make these difficult decisions through an analys…
Scoping recent investment in evaluation education in Australian universities
This article explores the current evaluation education program opportunities in the Australian higher education market and identifies potential research areas to inform pathways for future investment. Findings from our initial scoping phase are provided as a prelude to future work required in this space. The overarching research question investigates whether there is an opportunity to deliver further evaluation education programs in Australian hi…
Course enhancement conversations: A holistic and collaborative evaluation approach to quality improvement in higher education
This practice article describes the use of collaborative evaluation for institutional improvement leading to continuous learning at a regional university in Australia. The University of Southern Queensland’s Academic Quality Framework (2019–2022) was developed in response to external drivers to improve practices relating to the comprehensive and systematic analysis of academic data. One aspect of the response was to introduce ‘course enhancement …
Illuminative Evaluation as a Method Applied to Australian Government Policy Borrowing and Implementation in Higher Education
Any government deciding to invoke widespread change in its higher education sector through implementation of new policies impacts on every institution and all staff and students, often in both the time taken up and the heightened emotions caused. The central phenomenon that this study addresses is the process and consequences of policy changes in higher education in Australia. The aim of this article is to record the research design through the p…
The Continuous Learning Framework: Applying accountability for widespread organisational change
This article introduces the Continuous Learning Framework for quality within higher education and other internal evaluation contexts. The framework maps the terrain of this special issue, and consists of four elements: accountability, improvement, performance and investment. The article briefly describes the evolution of the framework including its application to a government reform package, before focussing on its practical application within a …
Discussion Methods for Adult Groups
Adult Education: Integration of Adult Education: A Sociological Problem
Adult Education: Integration of Adult Education: A Sociological Problem." The Journal of Higher Education, 7(9), p. 506
Reframing Evaluation of Learning and Teaching: An Approach to Change
This article is the second in a series 1 of three that describes the journey on which the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) embarked to redevelop our evaluation practices in the interest of improving the quality of learning and teaching. The article provides insights into: how the previous evaluation system operated and why it needed to change; the emergence and early development of the new project; and formulation of a conceptual framewo…
Illuminative Evaluation as a Method Applied to Australian Government Policy Borrowing and Implementation in Higher Education
Any government deciding to invoke widespread change in its higher education sector through implementation of new policies impacts on every institution and all staff and students, often in both the time taken up and the heightened emotions caused. The central phenomenon that this study addresses is the process and consequences of policy changes in higher education in Australia. The aim of this article is to record the research design through the p…
Context-sensitive evaluation: Determining the context surrounding the implementation of a government policy
This article explains the essence of the context-sensitive parameters and dimensions in play at the time of an intervention, through the application of Rog's (2012) model of contextual parameters. Rog's model offers evaluators a structured approach to examine an intervention. The initial study provided a systematic way to clarify the scope, variables, timing, and appropriate evaluation methodology to evaluate the implementation of a government po…
Beyond Average: Contemporary statistical techniques for analysing student evaluations of teaching
Student evaluations of teaching (SETs) have been used to evaluate higher education teaching performance for decades. Reporting SET results often involves the extraction of an average for some set of course metrics, which facilitates the comparison of teaching teams across different organisational units. Here, we draw attention to ongoing problems with the naive application of this approach. Firstly, a specific average value may arise from data th…
Evaluation Perspectives
A Reflection on Critical Methodology: Accountability and Beneficiary Participative Evaluation in Third Sector Research
Enabled by the underpinnings of critical theory, this article discusses research methodology developed with the aim of empowering beneficiaries within Third Sector Organisations, through their participation in organisational evaluation processes. The discussion on methodology in this article occurs at three levels: conceptual , processual , and reflexive . The conceptual level explores ontological and epistemological assumptions that shape the cr…
The Continuous Learning Framework: Applying accountability for widespread organisational change
This article introduces the Continuous Learning Framework for quality within higher education and other internal evaluation contexts. The framework maps the terrain of this special issue, and consists of four elements: accountability, improvement, performance and investment. The article briefly describes the evolution of the framework including its application to a government reform package, before focussing on its practical application within a …
Performance through the lens of evaluation: How to stretch evaluative thinking with strategic decision-making tools
Australian higher education continues to be plagued with decreases in funding and increases in regulation. This is leading to a reality within many universities where quality alone is not enough to consider academic programs viable and sustainable. Today, universities compete fiercely for students, as increasing or retaining market share is required to remain financially sound. Universities usually make these difficult decisions through an analys…
Evaluator Perspective
My name is Lyn Alderman and I hold the position of Professor and Dean (Academic Transformation) at the University of Southern Queensland. With over 40 years employment experience, I stepped into evaluation through a research higher degree pathway and found a home when I attended my first Australian Evaluation Association international conference in Perth in 2008 as a student. Since this time, I have been the President, Editor of the Evaluation Jo…
Scoping recent investment in evaluation education in Australian universities
This article explores the current evaluation education program opportunities in the Australian higher education market and identifies potential research areas to inform pathways for future investment. Findings from our initial scoping phase are provided as a prelude to future work required in this space. The overarching research question investigates whether there is an opportunity to deliver further evaluation education programs in Australian hi…
Course enhancement conversations: A holistic and collaborative evaluation approach to quality improvement in higher education
This practice article describes the use of collaborative evaluation for institutional improvement leading to continuous learning at a regional university in Australia. The University of Southern Queensland’s Academic Quality Framework (2019–2022) was developed in response to external drivers to improve practices relating to the comprehensive and systematic analysis of academic data. One aspect of the response was to introduce ‘course enhancement …
The forgotten contexts of evaluation
Context is a well-discussed but still elusive concept in evaluation. The authors of this article acknowledge there is considerable literature on context in an evaluation setting, with multiple frameworks, theories and methodologies guided by context. However, the authors believe there is little practical and pragmatic guidance for evaluators regarding how to locate and determine what is contextually relevant. To address this gap, the authors have…
Evaluation and Performance Assessment (10 works) · Computer Science (9 works) · Political science (9 works) · Evaluation of Teaching Practices (7 works) · Psychology (7 works) · Higher education (6 works) · Sociology (6 works) · Business (5 works) · Engineering (5 works) · Higher Education Governance and Development (5 works)