Thus, a key issue in developing a framework for program evaluation is practitioner confidence about participating in the evaluation process. Based on our project experiences, practitioners develop confidence, skills, and goals for evaluation, when they come together on a regular basis to share questions about their programs. In this way they are able to develop ideas and plans for evaluation that are based on personal, informed experience, tailored to their specific needs.

The Collaborative Planning Process

While pressures on practitioner time are considerable and increasing, if evaluation is to become useful in program decision making, evaluation must become a priority in terms of staff planning time. For collaboration and practitioner confidence to develop, time must be devoted to nurture them. This requires a commitment to identifying program staff who will take responsibility for putting evaluation on the agenda and scheduling time for staff and learners to meet on a regular basis.

When practitioners work alone or in pairs, it is necessary to develop links with peers through literacy networks. Literacy networks should be aware of this need for collaboration in evaluation so that time may be allocated specifically for evaluation purposes during which different perspectives and ideas from other practitioners may be shared.

The purpose of making evaluation a scheduled priority in the form of designated evaluation meetings is to focus concerns and collaborative problem solving on pinpointing areas of program effectiveness, reviewing current practices and setting new goals based on chosen instructional approaches. In this way future agendas for evaluation can be developed cooperatively and responsibility for gathering information becomes a shared task.

The Guide to the Evaluation of Literacy Programs in Ontario (OTAB, 1995) is an excellent reference for an overview of the evaluation process by which to structure agendas for different evaluation meetings and when the focus is on family literacy, it should be used as a companion resource for literacy practitioners using this guide. Nevertheless, in considering family literacy evaluation, time should be devoted at the start of the evaluation process to reflecting on and sharing what family literacy means to each practitioner and what constitutes a family literacy initiative within the context of individual programs. Because family literacy is such a complex idea, it is easy to become vague about where family literacy is occurring and how to keep track of it in your program.