Evaluator Education for the Twenty-First Century: The Centrality of Developing Evaluators’ Interpersonal Competencies

Main Article Content

Jean King

Abstract

This paper first traces the development of competencies for professional evaluators and identifies interpersonal competencies as a key component of evaluator education in the future. It then outlines two roles for evaluators that may affect the application of interpersonal competencies, discusses four ideas for their development, and briefly addresses the possibility of evaluation capacity building. It concludes with a brief discussion of where and how evaluator training or education might effectively teach these competencies and know that people had learned them.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Article Details

How to Cite
King, J. (2023). Evaluator Education for the Twenty-First Century: The Centrality of Developing Evaluators’ Interpersonal Competencies. Journal of MultiDisciplinary Evaluation, 19(46), 10–22. https://doi.org/10.56645/jmde.v19i46.877
Section
International Evaluator Competence Perspectives

References

American Evaluation Association (AEA) (2022a). The 2018 Evaluator Competencies.

https://www.eval.org/Portals/0/Docs/AEA%20Evaluator%20Competencies.pdf.

AEA (1995, 2022b). Guiding Principles for Evaluators. https://www.eval.org/About/Guiding- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/ev.1706

Principles.

Cambridge Dictionary (2022). https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/English.

Canadian Evaluation Society (CES) (1999). Essential Skills Series. Retrieved from

http://www.evaluationcanada.ca/essential-skills-series-evaluation.

Chouinard, J. & Cram, F. (2020). Culturally responsive approaches to evaluation. Thousand

Oaks, CA: Sage.

Cousins, J. B., Goh, S. C., Elliott, C. J., & Bourgeois, I. (2014). Framing the capacity to do and

use evaluation. New Directions for Evaluation, https://doi.org/10.1002/ev.20076. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/ev.20076

Deutsch, M. (1949). A theory of cooperation and competition. Human Relations, 2, 129-151. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/001872674900200204

Johnson, D. W., Johnson, R. T., & Stevahn, L. (2011). Social interdependence and program DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470672532.wbepp257

evaluation. In M. M. Mark, S. I. Donaldson, & B. Campbell (Eds.), Social psychology

and evaluation (pp. 288-317). New York: Guilford Press.

Joint Committee on Standards for Educational Evaluation (1994). The program evaluation

standards: A guide for evaluators and evaluation users (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks,

CA: Sage.

King, J. A. (1998, October). “Becoming pragmatist.” Invited keynote at the Annual Meeting of

the Australasian Evaluation Society, Sydney, Australia.

King, J. A. (2007, November). Bringing evaluative inquiry to life. Keynote at the

Annual Meeting of the American Evaluation Association, Baltimore, MD.

King, J. A. (2020). The American Evaluation Association’s Program Evaluator Competencies.

New Directions for Evaluation, 168, 1–172.

King, J. A. (2023). The “theory” of interactive evaluation practice. In M. C. Alkin & C. A.

Christie (Eds.). Evaluation Roots. 3rd Edition. New York: The Guilford Press, 234-242.

King, J. A., & Ayoo, S. (2020). What do we know about evaluator education? A review

of peer-reviewed publications (1978–2018). Evaluation and Program Planning, 79,

King, J. A., & Pechman, E. M. (1984). Pinning a wave to the shore: Conceptualizing school DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/1163870

evaluation use. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 6(3), 241-251.

King, J. A., & Stevahn, L. (2013). Interactive evaluation practice: Mastering the interpersonal DOI: https://doi.org/10.4135/9781452269979

dynamics of program evaluation. Los Angeles, CA: Sage.

King, J. A., & Stevahn, L. (2020). Presenting the 2018 AEA Evaluator Competencies. New DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/ev.20435

Directions for Evaluation, 168, 49-61.

King, J. A., Stevahn, L., Ghere, G., & Minnema, J. (2001). Toward a taxonomy of essential

evaluator competencies. American Journal of Evaluation, 22(2), 229-247.

King, J. A., & Volkov, B. (2005). A framework for building evaluation capacity based on the

experiences of three organizations. Center for Urban and Regional Affairs (CURA) Reporter, 10-16.

LaVelle, J. M. (2020). Educating evaluators 1976-2017: An expanded analysis of university- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1098214019860914

based evaluation education programs. American Journal of Evaluation.

https://doi.org/10.1177%2F1098214019860914

Matthias, C. (2022). Practicing evaluators’ visions of social justice: Definitions, theories,

approaches, and problem framing. [Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Minnesota].

Merriam Webster Dictionary (2022). https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/.

Patton, M. Q. (2007). Process use as a usefulism. New Directions for Evaluation, 116, 99-112. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/ev.246

Patton, M. Q. (2011). Developmental evaluation: Applying complexity concepts to enhance

innovation and use. New York: The Guilford Press.

Patton, M. Q. (1978). Utilization-focused evaluation. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Rog, D. J., Fitzpatrick, J. L., Conner, R. F. (2012). Context: A framework for its influence on

evaluation practice. New Directions for Evaluation, 135.

Rogers, A. F. (2021). Advocates for evaluation in culturally diverse non-profit organisations.

[Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Melbourne].

Rowe, A., & Uitto, J. I. (PRESENT ISSUE?). Sustainability, evaluation and credentials. The

Journal of MultiDisciplinary Evaluation, ADD?

SenGupta, S., Hopson, R., & Thompson-Robinson (Eds.) (2004). In search of cultural DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/ev.112

competence in evaluation: Toward principles and practices. New Directions for

Evaluation, 102.

Smith, M. F. (1999). Should AEA begin a process for restricting membership in the profession of DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S1098-2140(99)00038-7

evaluation? American Journal of Evaluation, 20, 521-531.

Stevahn, L., & King, J. A. (2005). Managing conflict constructively in program evaluation. Evaluation, 11(4), 415-427. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1356389005059384

Stevahn, L., King, J. A., Ghere, G., & Minnema, J. (2005). Establishing essential competencies for program evaluators. American Journal of Evaluation, 26(1), 43–59. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1098214004273180

Tucker, S. A., Barela, E., Miller, R. L., & Podems, D. (2020). The story of the AEA DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/ev.20439

Competencies Task Force (2015-2018). New Directions for Evaluation, 168, 31-48.

Tucker, S. A., Stevahn, L., & King, J. A. (2022). Professionalizing evaluation: A time-bound

comparison of the American Evaluation Association’s foundational documents. American Journal of Evaluation, https://doi.org/10.1177/10982140221136486. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/10982140221136486

Weiss, C. H. (1997). Theory-based evaluation: Past, present, and future. New Directions for DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/ev.1086

Evaluation, 76, 41–55.

Worthen, B. R. (1994). Is evaluation a mature profession that warrants the preparation of DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/ev.1672

evaluation professionals? New Directions for Program Evaluation, 62, 3-15.

Yarbrough, D. B., Caruthers, F. A., Shulha, L. M., & Hopson, R. K. (2010). The Program

Evaluation Standards: A Guide for Evaluators and Evaluation Users (3rd ed.). Thousand

Oaks, CA: Sage.