A Review and Synthesis of Current Research on Cross-Cultural Evaluation

Abstract

As a fairly new and emergent construct, there remain many gaps in our knowledge about how to integrate notions of culture and cultural context into evaluation theory and practice, as well as gaps in our knowledge about how to conduct and implement evaluations in immigrant and indigenous communities. In this article, the authors provide a comprehensive review of the empirical literature on evaluations conducted in cultural communities, with an emphasis on the relationship between evaluators and stakeholders in the cross-cultural program context. The analysis of the literature selected for review leads to the development of a theoretical framework describing the inter-related and multi-textual dimensions (relational, ecological, methodological, organizational and personal) that interweave throughout the evaluation, and that ultimately inform the relationship between evaluators and stakeholders in the cross-cultural program context. The article concludes with an agenda for future research.