Assessing the outcomes and impacts of the implementation of environmental education programs and projects is an important step to report their efficiency and effectiveness, but still constitutes a major challenge. To conduct these follow-up tasks, indicators could play a central role in evaluation and reporting. However, despite the abundance and diversity of methods for assessing sustainability at operational and strategic levels, there is still a lack of research on approaches that support the evaluation of the evaluation, identifying the strengths and weaknesses of it. The main aim of this research is the development of a meta-evaluation approach to analyze the efficiency and effectiveness of environmental education assessments, identifying their contribution to support decision-making and policy processes. This approach was elaborated based on a prior Brazilian case study in the energy sector. First a customized meta-evaluation approach was designed and successfully implemented to analyze the efficiency and effectiveness of an assessment model of federal governmental environmental education programs. The proposed meta-evaluation approach was developed to analyse assessment tools used in environmental education initiatives - projects, programs, strategies and public policies. The developed framework is based upon a participatory approach and structured through a checklist of criteria and meta-evaluation performance indicators. This proposed meta-evaluation framework is organized through hierarchical and integrated indicators, considering qualitative and quantitative criteria. In order to evaluate environmental education assessment tools, this approach takes into account different meta-evaluation variables such as: indicator selection, indicator performance, indicator governance and reporting, and stakeholder’s participation. The meta-evaluation approach was tested in Brazilian public and private organizations from the energy sector. The case application was supported by participatory techniques, with active engagement of selected stakeholders. Results highlighted the relevance and usefulness of meta-evaluation approaches to analyse the outcomes and impacts of environmental educational programs and projects. Meta-evaluation can be used as a quality-control tool during the implementation of educational initiatives, enhancing guidance, objectivity, accuracy, feasibility, utility and transparency.
Key words: environmental education projects, meta-evaluation, indicators
1c. Assessing sustainability (indicators and reporting)
