Lecturer: Erna Engelbrecht
Evaluating educational innovations is essential for determining their impact and potential for broader implementation. However, current course evaluation practices in higher education tend to emphasize student satisfaction and grades, often reducing evaluations to diagnostic tools. These approaches frequently overlook the perspectives of diverse stakeholders and lack a scholarly foundation due to their reliance on standardized metrics. Consequently, opportunities for individualized professional development among educators and impactful improvement of educational design are often missed. This research initiative addresses these limitations by proposing the development of a comprehensive process framework for evaluating educational innovations. Developed in the context of engineering education, these guidelines will help bridge the gap between STEM research and social science research, making evaluation and educational research more accessible to academics. Ultimately, it will support a culture of continuous improvement and evidence-based innovation in higher education.
