The evaluation of policies, programs, and practices / Melvin M. Mark, Jennifer C. Greene, Ian F. Shaw -- The purposes of evaluation in a democratic society / Eleanor Chelimsky -- Roles for theory in contemporary evaluation practice : developing practical knowledge / Stewart I. Donaldson, Mark W. Lipsey -- Evaluation for practice improvement and organizational learning / Patricia J. Rogers, Bob Williams -- Evaluation and the study of lived experience / Thomas A. Schwandt, Holli Burgon -- Evaluation, democracy and social change / Jennifer C. Greene -- Evaluation after disenchantment? : five issues shaping the role of evaluation in society / Peter Dahler-Larsen -- Government as structural context for evaluation / Phil Davies, Kathryn Newcomer, Haluk Soydan -- The social relations of evaluation / Tineke A. Abma -- Intellectual contexts / John Stevenson, David Thomas -- The relationship between evaluation and politics / Ove Karlsson Vestman, Ross F. Conner -- Ethics in evaluation / Helen Simons -- A comparative analysis of evaluation utilization and its cognate fields of inquiry : current issues and trends / J. Bradley Cousins, Lyn M. Shulha -- Contextual challenges for evaluation practice / Elliot Stern -- Methods for policy-making and knowledge development evaluations / Melvin M. Mark, Gary T. Henry -- Embedding improvements, lived experience, and social justice in evaluation practice / Elizabeth Whitmore, Irene Guijt, Donna M. Mertens, Pamela S. Imm, Matthew Chinman, Abraham Wandersman -- Managing evaluations / Robert Walker, Michael Wiseman -- Communicating evaluation / Marvin C. Alkin, Christina A. Christie, Mike Rose -- On discerning quality in evaluation / Robert E. Stake, Thomas A. Schwandt -- The practice of evaluation : challenges and new directions / Lois-ellin Datta -- Evaluation in education / David Nevo

"The Handbook succeeds in capturing and presenting evaluation's extensive knowledge base within a global context. In so doing it provides a useful, coherent, and definitive benchmark on the field's diverse and dynamic purposes, practices, theories, approaches, issues, and challenges for the 21st century. The Handbook is an essential reference and map for any serious evaluation practitioner, scholar, and student anywhere in the world." - Michael Quinn Patton, author of Utilization-focused evaluation. In this comprehensive handbook, an examination of the complexities of contemporary evaluation contributes to the ongoing dialogue that arises in professional efforts to evaluate people-related programs, policies, and practices. The SAGE Handbook of evaluation is a unique and authoritative resource consisting of 25 chapters covering a range of evaluation theories and techniques in a single, accessible volume. With contributions from world-leading figures in their fields overseen by an eminent international editorial board, this handbook is an extensive and user-friendly resource organized in four coherent sections: role and purpose of evaluation in society, evaluation as a social practice, the practice of evaluation, and domains of evaluation practice. The SAGE Handbook of evaluation is written for practicing evaluators, academics, advanced postgraduate students, and evaluation clients and offers a definitive, benchmark statement on evaluation theory and practice for the first decades of the 21st century.