The need for theory evaluation in global citizenship programmes: The case of the GCSA programme

- A theory evaluation of a South African university's global citizenship programme produced an articulated programme theory.
- The GCSA Programme was found to be broadly comparable to other such programmes identified from the literature.
- There is, however, a general lack of articulated programme theories in global citizenship programmes.
- Global citizenship programmes can benefit from the ability to demonstrate outcomes by adopting a theory-based approach.

Many education programmes lack a documented programme theory. This is a problem for programme planners and evaluators as the ability to measure programme success is grounded in the plausibility of the programme's underlying causal logic. Where the programme theory has not been documented, conducting a theory evaluation offers a foundational evaluation step as it gives an indication of whether the theory behind a programme is sound. This paper presents a case of a theory evaluation of a Global Citizenship programme at a top-ranking university in South Africa, subsequently called the GCSA Programme. This evaluation highlights the need for documented programme theory in global citizenship-type programmes for future programme development. An articulated programme theory produced for the GCSA Programme, analysed against the available social science literature, indicated it is comparable to other such programmes in terms of its overarching framework. What the research found is that most other global citizenship programmes do not have an articulated programme theory. These programmes also do not explicitly link their specific activities to their intended outcomes, making demonstrating impact impossible. In conclusion, we argue that taking a theory-based approach can strengthen and enable outcome evaluations in global citizenship programmes.