An examination of the suitability of PADev as a method for effective participatory assessment of the development of higher education institutions: the case of Eduardo Mondlane University (1976-2016)

Abstract

The thesis examines the suitability of PADev method for effective participatory assessment of the development of Eduardo Mondlane University (EMU). The PADev experiment conducted at EMU aimed at assessing its development from an inner perspective. As a bottom-up approach that enabled tracking factors and actors that influenced the transformation of the university, PADev tools allowed tracing events, changes and development interventions implemented at the university in the last 4 decades.

The PADev experiment succeeded in enabling collective reconstruction of the history of the university, particularly the history of the sampled units by making primary beneficiaries of development interventions recall their experiential and factual knowledge, to build up a shared vision on the development path of EMU.

The findings concerning the effectiveness of the PADev method showed that PADev conceived as a community development evaluation tool, did not fully suit the assessment of a higher education institution such as EMU. The dimension and complexity of its processes, organisation and structure jeopardised the successful application of the method. The lack of commitment of the study participants compromised its capability to gather data, and PADev alone did not convey the wider context of change and development.