Critical Evaluation through the lens of Indigenous Data Sovereignty

Abstract

This paper advances a critical evaluation approach to student equity in higher education, framed through the lens of Indigenous Data Sovereignty (IDS). Rooted in emancipatory foundations, IDS provides a paradigmatic and practice-based model for transforming extractive data practices to community-led, ethically grounded evaluation. The IDS CARE Principles—Collective Benefit, Authority to Control, Responsibility, and Ethics—offers a concrete framework for participatory, culturally accountable, and justice-oriented evaluation. The paper offers an illustrative application of how these principles can be operationalised in evaluating university initiatives that support students from refugee backgrounds. While IDS offers valuable guidance, it is grounded in the specific rights, histories, and self-determination of Indigenous peoples. These principles must not be appropriated or used to replace Indigenous-led evaluation by non-Indigenous actors. Rather, this paper draws on IDS for evaluation in broader equity contexts to promote relational accountability and evaluator reflexivity. It centres evaluation on the lived experiences of those most affected and calls for a redistribution of power as a pathway to systemic change—advancing justice for the very communities that student equity policies and programs are intended to support.