2019 Annual Conference

Research to Practice

Concurrent Session (45 minutes)

Why do some educators resist program evaluation? Recent empirical data collected using Preskill and Torres’ ROLE instrument’s culture subscale suggest that positive organizational culture can support a positive evaluation culture. Join us to review the instrument and discuss design of staff development to build positive organizational culture and evaluation capacity.

     Target audience for this presentation is any adult educator tasked with evaluation of educational programs. Administrators, educators, and internal or external evaluators of adult education programs will benefit from the exploration of how organizational and evaluation cultures interact and influence evaluation practice.

     Participants will engage in review of current research, use of instrumented learning through completion of an organizational culture assessment, and explore how they might apply that learning in the role(s) they fill in their organization and its evaluation of adult educational programs.

Participants will:
- Identify key tenets of organizational culture and evaluation culture found in research and how they relate to evaluation practice;
- Explain the Theory of Planned Behavior (Ajzen, 1991) and how it has been used to foster change in evaluation and other behaviors;
- Complete and analyze a subsection of the Culture portion of the ROLE (Readiness for Organizational Learning and Evaluation) instrument (Preskill & Torres, 2000); and
- Participate in a discussion of how using the ROLE instrument and other strategies can contribute to evaluation capacity building and improve organizational culture for individuals and organizations.

     Individual skills, knowledge and attitudes, as well as organizational norms and culture, affect adult educators’ ability to effectively evaluate educational programs. A strong, positive organizational culture can foster a learning culture, which, in turn, supports and encourages a positive evaluative culture. Participants will be invited to share what they have learned regarding program evaluation in various organizational contexts.

     We will explore the relationships between organizational and evaluation cultures through review of current research on factors that influence evaluation of educational programs in non-formal organizations such as the Cooperative Extension Service, public health organizations, and others that serve adult learners in the United States. Theoretical foundations of the relationships among organizational and evaluation cultures will include a brief introduction to theories including the Theory of Planned Behavior (Ajzen, 1985) and the Competing Values Framework of organizational culture (Quinn & Rohrbaugh, 1983).

     Session participants will complete the Culture subscale from the ROLE (Readiness for Organizational Learning and Evaluation) instrument (Preskill & Torres, 2000). Scoring the instrument will be instructive and introduce sub-constructs related to organizational culture. Discussion of the implications of knowing more about your organization’s culture will include sharing how to influence organizational and evaluation culture through planned experiences and trainings.

      The session will begin with a brief overview of research on organizational and evaluation cultures. Participants will be encouraged to contribute their perspectives and experiences with organizational and evaluation cultures and how it influences their evaluation practice.

     Participants will complete the Culture subscale from the ROLE (Readiness for Organizational Learning and Evaluation) instrument (Preskill & Torres, 2000). We will score the instrument and discuss possible implications of knowing more about your organization’s culture.  

     Session handouts will be provided in hard copy for attendees and will be available online using QR codes. Additional supporting materials will also be made available online.