Center for Culturally Responsive Evaluation and Assessment

This year’s CREA conference highlights how our commitments to various forms of relationships ground the extent to which we are culturally responsive in our work. CREA’s mission continues to be influenced by attention to culture in the United States and around the world. In this Call for Proposals, we encourage contributions from culturally responsive researchers and practitioners across global contexts.

In the words of Stafford Hood, “We are compelled and responsible to raise questions about what is being done to correct inequities and aggressively translate this evidence into action that has meaningful impact on our collective people” (Hood, 2019). Culturally responsive evaluation and assessment embrace relational responsibilities that are both compelling and humbling. These include:

Responsibilities to self. To practice ethically and effectively, evaluators and assessment practitioners and assessment practitioners need to know themselves and the cultural identities that ground them. Self-awareness precedes use of self-as-instrument in evaluation (Symonette, 2009). Citing Walker (2007), Visse et al. (2012) pose the questions: “How do I as an evaluator see myself, and how do others see me, and what moral expectations of myself flow from this narrative?” (p. 99). Likewise, assessors need to ask how their work in assessment contributes to or aligns with their moral stances. 

Interpersonal responsibilities. CREA’s foundation is relational practice. This means treating people fairly in both the design and conduct of CREA. Broadly envisioned, stakeholders must be respectfully engaged and included.

Responsibilities to community. Beyond interpersonal interactions and commitments, relationships are formed within and among collectives. These collectives are defined by their members and may have geographic markers, such as sovereign nations, cities, towns, villages, and neighborhoods throughout the global community. The CREA community consists of colleagues with shared values, knowledge, and skills; it is not a formal membership organization.

Responsibilities to organizations. Formal organizations often depict responsibilities in hierarchical structures, inclusive of sections, departments, or units. For example, the Center for Culturally Responsive Evaluation and Assessment holds a designated status within the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

Responsibilities to social institutions. Political, economic, or legal institutions provide broad rules and norms that shape human behavior. In the United States, democracy is one such institution.

Responsibilities to place. Beyond responsibilities to people who work or reside in these spaces, there are responsibilities to the environment—land, air, and water—and to its non-human residents.

Responsibilities for global well-being. CREA’s reach is international, and with that comes responsibilities for relationships that transcend specific cultures, locations, and structures. Responsibilities now extend beyond our planet and into space.