Adelman, Clem

(b. 1942, Tring, England). Ph.D. Science Education, London University; B.Sc. Education, London University.

Adelman began teaching about and doing research and evaluation in 1964. Since 1972 he has worked at [Page 11]the Center for Applied Research in Education (CARE), University of East Anglia, United Kingdom, and has also held appointments at the University of Reading and the University of Trondheim in Norway.

At CARE, Adelman initially worked on the Ford Foundation Teaching Project, which promoted self-evaluation and classroom action research, and then on an ethnographic study of 3- to 5-year-old children in schools. He became increasingly involved in evaluation problems arising from fieldwork and case studies, especially those in which the evaluators aspired to be democratic in their principles and conduct. He has worked on various evaluations, including those concerning arts education; bilingual schooling in Boston, MA; assessment of oral English; school-industry links;and residential care for the handicapped.

His work on the feasibility of institutional self-evaluation has contributed to a broad understanding of how and why educational organizations engage in evaluation. His book (with Robin Alexander) Self-Evaluating Institution: Practice and Principles in the Management of Educational Change reflects these contributions. Some of his other books include The Politics and Ethics of Evaluation; Guide to Classroom Observation (with Rob Walker); and the edited volume Uttering, Muttering: Collecting, Using and Reporting Talk for Social and Educational Research.

Adelman's work has been influenced by fellow evaluators Bob Stake, Barry McDonald, Ernie House, and Gene Glass, as well as Bela Bartok, H. S. Becker, Ernest Gellner, Stephen J. Gould, Nat Hentoff, Georg Simmel, and Spinoza.

Adelman has lived and worked in the south of France, Norway, northwest China, and Hungary. He is an accomplished saxophone player.