As I reflected on the readings this week, I was struck by how they reframed my understanding of what it means to be an evaluator. I have always sought to align my personal and professional life with my values, whether by choosing to live in a rural community or by pursuing work that contributes to a better world. I was initially concerned that evaluation might be overly technical, detached from lived experience, and potentially at odds with my values. However, the works of Brousselle and colleagues reassured me that evaluation can, in fact, be grounded in reality and oriented toward equity, planetary health, and human well-being.

I was particularly drawn to the argument that policies which reduce social inequities have the greatest impact on population health, and that resilience and happiness are fostered not through wealth, but through welfare policies and investments in areas such as education and early childhood programs. Because these are areas in which I already advocate and work, I feel encouraged that evaluation will strengthen my efforts and provide me with additional tools to be more effective in creating positive change. These insights affirmed that I am on the right path in pursuing this course of study.

The readings also invited me to reflect on my identity as an evaluator. Brousselle et al.’s call for evaluators to consider their “origin stories” (p. 189, 2024) prompted me to think more deeply about my own ancestry and cultural background. This reminded me of Ted Aoki’s writing on multicultural curriculum, from the book Curriculum in a New Key: The Collected Works of Ted T. Aoki, which emphasized that our self-understanding is often shaped through the stories of others. In my own journey, I have found that learning about my ancestors has been an important step in understanding who I am.

Taken together, these readings encouraged me to view evaluation not as a detached or purely technical practice, but as one that can meaningfully align with my values, strengthen my advocacy, and support both personal and professional growth.

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References:

Aoki, T.T., & Aoki, T.T. (2004). Curriculum in a New Key: The Collected Works of Ted T. Aoki (W.F. Pinar, & R.L. Irwin, Eds.) (1st ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781410611390

Brousselle, A. (2025 in preparation) Context Matters- Evaluation in the 21st century, Evaluation for Planetary Health, Victoria, BC: 5-15.

Brousselle, A., Bemner, L., Parata, K., Hasan, A.A., Felcis, W., Belzer, A., Kedoté, M., Nanda, R., Rey, L., Vieira-da-Silva, L.M. (2024) Foundations for a utopia: Can evaluation contribute to a better world, and how?, The Canadian Journal of Program Evaluation/La Revue Canadienne d’Évaluation de Programme. https://utppublishing.com/doi/10.3138/cjpe-2023-0026

Photo by Kylie Van Eaton.