Cultural Competence in Evaluation: An Overview

Evaluation inarguably takes place within social, cultural, historical, economic, and political contexts--the contexts defined by human existence and experience. These contexts envelope many dimensions. Race, ethnicity, language, gender, age, religion, and sexual orientation are among the commonly listed demographic attributes of contextual diversity. Not so commonly discussed in conversations about evaluation are the contextual dimensions of power, economy, living situation, and class, among other denominators of equity and sociopolitical status, "and" the contextual dimensions specific to culture. That is, despite the recent flurry of activity and discussion in a number of disciplines meant to lift issues of culture and cultural context to the fore of discovery, theory, and application, the evaluation field has lagged behind. Yet culture is an undeniably integral part of the diverse contexts of evaluation, and therefore an integral part of evaluation. Culture is present in evaluation not only in the contexts in which programs are implemented but also in the designs of these programs and the approach, stance, or methods evaluators choose to use in their work. A common thread between culture and evaluation is the concept of "values". Culture shapes values, beliefs, and worldviews. Evaluation is fundamentally an endeavor of determining values, merit, and worth. In making the case for cultural competence in evaluation, this article emphasizes this common thread. This overview is divided into two main sections: a discussion of the cultural contexts of policy, program, and service delivery; and a look at the implications for evaluation, where the debate currently stands in terms of both evaluation theory and methodology, and an attempt to define what culturally competent evaluation means when one takes these viewpoints into account. The article concludes with examples of what is happening in evaluation practice in terms of incorporating cultural competence, and what still needs to be done. (Contains 1 table.)