Culturally Responsive Approaches to Evaluation: Empirical Implications for Theory and Practice(Evaluation in Practice Series)

Evaluators have always worked in diverse communities, and the programs they evaluate are designed to address often intractable socio-political and economic issues. Evaluations that explicitly aim to be more responsive to culture and cultural context are, however, a more recent phenomenon. In this book, Jill Anne Chouinard and Fiona Cram utilize a conceptual framework that foregrounds culture in social inquiry, and then uses that framework to analyze empirical studies across three distinct cultural domains of evaluation practice (Western, Indigenous and international development). Culturally Responsive Approaches to Evaluation provide a comparative analysis of these studies and discuss lessons drawn from them in order to help evaluators extend their current thinking and practice. They conclude with an agenda for future research.

Table of Contents:
List of Appendices, Figures, Tables About the Authors Volume Editors’ Introduction Acknowledgments Chapter 1 • Introduction Overall Background to Book Social Inquiry as a Cultural Product This Book Chapter 2 • A Conceptual Framework for Inquiry Defining Culture Dimensions of Culture and Cultural Context Chapter 3 • Methodology and Descriptive Overview of Selected Studies Description of Studies Sample Characteristics Strategy for Analysis Limitations Chapter 4 • The Indigenous Context Overview of Chapter Description of Sample Review and Integration of Selected Studies Critical Discussion and Implications for Practice Chapter Summary Extending Inquiry Chapter 5 • The Western/North American Context Overview of Chapter Description of Sample Review and Integration of Selected Studies Discussion and Implications Critical Discussion and Implications for Practice Chapter Summary Extending Inquiry Chapter 6 • The International Development Context Overview of the Chapter The International Development Context in Evaluation Description of Sample Review and Integration of Selected Studies Critical Discussion and Implications for Practice Chapter Summary Extending Inquiry Chapter 7 • A Discussion of the Conceptual Framework Across Domains of Practice The Epistemological Dimension of Cultural Practice The Ecological Dimension of Cultural Practice The Methodological Dimension of Cultural Practice The Political Dimension of Cultural Practice The Personal Dimension of Cultural Practice The Relational Dimension of Cultural Practice The Institutional Dimension of Cultural Practice The Axiological Dimension of Cultural Practice The Ontological Dimension of Cultural Practice Concluding Remarks Chapter 8 • Concluding Thoughts References Appendices Index

About the Author :
Jill Anne Chouinard is an Associate Professor in the Department of Educational Research Methodology at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She is currently the Associate Editor of the Canadian Journal of Program Evaluation. Her main interests are in cross-cultural/culturally responsive approaches to research and evaluation, participatory research and evaluation, and evaluation and public policy. She has extensive experience working on evaluations at the community level in the areas of education and training, social services, health, and organizational learning and change. She positions evaluation as a catalyst for learning, collaboration, social justice and community change.   Fiona Cram founded Katoa Ltd in 2003, an indigenous research organisation that undertakes kaupapa Māori (by, for and with the Indigenous peoples of Aotearoa New Zealand) research, evaluation and training. Before establishing Katoa Ltd, she was a Senior Research Fellow and Deputy Director of the International Research Institute for Māori and Indigenous Education at the University of Auckland She is currently Editor-in-Chief of the Aotearoa New Zealand Evaluation Association journal ‘Evaluation Matters – He Take To Te Aromatawai’, published by the New Zealand Council for Educational Research, and has also co-edited a number of research books. She has undertaken projects for a number of organisations, including Te Puni Kokiri (Ministry of Māori Affairs), the Ministry of Health, and Ngati Kahungunu Iwi Inc. Dr Cram’s project work, publications and conference presentations on kaupapa Māori have made significant contribtions to indigenous research and evaluation both in New Zealand and within the international community. 

Review :
This book provides an in-depth look at the relationships between culture and evaluation/research. Prepare yourself for a read that will transform your practice!  This is one of those rare texts which can serve both as an introduction and as an advanced consideration of evaluation.  Everyone conducting social scientific research should have this essential resource on their shelf -- since not every program evaluator is an anthropologist, this is the next best thing to inform your thinking about culturally responsive practices in program evaluation.  Well-done and much-needed text on an important topic in program evaluation.  This book can guide evaluators to create a future for evaluation that could lead to improved responsiveness to the needs of members of marginalized communities, and increase the transformative contribution of evaluation to improved social justice in the world.