Internal Language Program Evaluation in University LOTE Departments: Scoping the Literature, Examining Practice and Building Capacity
Dissertation Proposal Title: Internal Language Program Evaluation in University LOTE Departments: Scoping the Literature, Examining Practice and Building Capacity
Dissertation Committee: Dr. Beatrice Dupuy (Chair), Dr. Nick Ferdinandt, Dr. Chantelle Warner, Dr. Margaret Malone (Special External Member, Georgetown University)
This will be a private proposal presentation, but if you would like to attend, please contact Lorraine at lorrainetdh@arizona.edu.
Dissertation Abstract: This three-article dissertation investigates internal language program evaluation (ILPE) in U.S. university Languages Other Than English (LOTE) departments, where evaluation is increasingly central to accountability, improvement, and advocacy but has remained unevenly implemented and empirically understudied in the post-pandemic period (Burton & Winke, 2025; Gruba, 2024; Malone & Montee, 2025; Montee & Di Silvio, 2025). Grounded in contemporary language program evaluation scholarship and utilization-focused evaluation approaches, the project conceptualizes ILPE as an organizationally embedded activity rather than a compliance exercise (Norris & Watanabe, 2007; Patton, 2008).
Article 1 conducts a systematic scoping review of peer-reviewed empirical ILPE research in U.S. university LOTE contexts to map existing research designs, evaluation targets, and major research gaps. Article 2 presents a multiple-case study of six purposefully selected departments to examine how ILPE is designed, enacted, and shaped by local incentives and contextual pressures. Article 3 provides a cross-case analysis explaining how evaluation capacity is built and sustained in these same cases. Through this coordinated multi-method design, the three studies establish an empirical foundation to guide future ILPE research and strengthen sustainable evaluation practice in university LOTE departments.
