Participatory and Hermeneutic Evaluation for the Professional Development of Educators: a Psychoanalytical and Socio-Educational Perspective

This abstract aims to present part of the results obtained by the Grundtvig Project called 'EDUEVAL'', Evaluation for adult education staff'', funded with the support of the EU. This project started in early January 2014 and addressed exploring the complexity of Evaluating Adult Education staff, in order to define a curriculum for professionals during their initial and in-service training. Many activities, from research to workshops and a pilot Training Course, were developed using different methods, both qualitative and quantitative. A special workshop was implemented using the psycho-socio-educational approach to the participatory and hermeneutic evaluation of the work of the educators. Participatory evaluation (Cousins, Chouinard, 2012) is a kind of evaluation that actively involves participants looking for the meaning of their actions, practices and procedures. It consists of a hermeneutic evaluation insofar as this search for meaning goes deeply into the hidden dynamics when using a psychoanalytical approach. Research below the surface for the deep and unconscious meanings can lead to genuine professional development. The paper will briefly describe the theoretical and methodological foundations of the approach used, with an analysis of the psychosocial and educational dynamics and the reflections that emerged in the course of the evaluation experience