Alkin, Marvin C.

(b. 1934, New York). Ed.D. Stanford University; M.A. Education, and B.A. Mathematics, San Jose State College.

Alkin was instrumental in helping to shape the field of evaluation through his work on evaluation utilization and comparative evaluation theory. He drew attention to ways of categorizing evaluation theories and provided the discipline with a systematic analysis of the way in which evaluation theories develop. Asa professor, Alkin developed novel ways of teaching graduate-level evaluation courses, including the use of simulation and role-playing.

His interest in systems analysis was cultivated through his association with Professor Fred MacDonald in the Educational Psychology Department at Stanford University. His thinking and early writings on cost-benefit and cost-effective analysis were fostered by Professor H. Thomas James, also at Stanford University. He was also influenced ...