Cultural Competence: 10-Year Comparison of Program Evaluators’ Perceptions

As part of its Guiding Principles for Evaluators, the American Evaluation Association (AEA) requires that evaluators develop cultural competencies. Using a successive-independent-samples design, the researchers sought to compare perceptions of cultural competence across a duration of 10 years. Qualitative data were collected via online surveying, which included 168 program evaluators in 2009 and 110 program evaluators in 2019. Content analysis was utilized, and content categories were identified and quantified for both data collections. The data reflect that, from 2009 to 2019, there has been an increased recognition of what cultural competence entails and a closer alignment between what the Guiding Principles for Evaluators promotes and what evaluators demonstrate. However, the data also indicate that perhaps preferences have evolved past the current cultural competence paradigm as well as the term “cultural competence” itself. These findings and implications are discussed in further detail.