Reeves Article

Liberation and equity is what all should strive for no matter what background, orientation, experience we sprout from. Cultural sensitivity is not just a matter of identifying and eliminating cultural bias. The culturally sensitive instructional designer and evaluator must be proactive in seeking opportunities to increase the cultural relevance of instructional materials and to build upon cultural diversity and pluralism. The ultimate goal should not be designing culturally neutral instructional materials, but creating learning environments that are enriched by the unique values that are inherent in different cultures (Reeves, 1997). While the evaluation enterprise continues to expand, it remains a controversial field, replete with paradigm wars, competing (if not conflicting) models, and serious ethical dilemmas (Alkin & Ellett, 1990; Scriven, 1993; Shadish, et al. 1991). According to Reeves (1997), cultural diversity has been given little attention due to the fact that most of the evaluation authority has been white males steeped in western philosophy, psychology and research methodology and himself been no exception.

There is nothing wrong in shaping one’s evaluation perspective based on experience but to be an accomplished evaluator, individuals have to address multicultural diversity. According to Reeves (1997), the rationale for including cultural diversity as a critical factor in evaluating instructional programs and products goes to the heart of the challenge of making evaluation a legitimate, ethical process. He also stated that attention to issues involved in cultural and ethnic diversity are not “nice to have” criteria, but essential elements in the evaluation of education and training. Yes, it will be wrong for me to willingly give my prescribed medication to a friend simply because he expresses similar symptoms. A well learned and accomplished American professor with little or no knowledge of the Yorubas or Ibos native in Nigeria will not be the best choice in designing their learning programs and evaluation materials, despite his accomplishments with different age groups and audience in United States. In employing this professor however, it will be beneficial to involve other professionals in the field who are of the tribes and culture.

Delegating diversity and other cultural issues either to the “future issues” category or labeling them as site-specific traits is unacceptable. Insensitivity to some religious believes, race and gender may prove fatal and a wrong ethic. It is also of import for instructional designers not to think they can be an island in a quest to detect cultural insensitivities. While there may be many checklists or rating scales to help in evaluating instructional products, collaboration of representatives of each target culture proves very valuable in identifying less obvious sources of cultural bias. Much is expected from whom much is given. Evaluators and developers have the responsibility to reveal the “hidden” messages of instructional programs and products through rigorous formative evaluation strategies such as observations, interviews, and reviews involving members of the relevant minorities or prospective international users (Reeves, 1997). Let all instructional design and evaluation communities strive to contribute a quota in establishing evaluation as a force of liberation and equity.

References:
Reeves, T. (1997, March-April). An evaluator looks at cultural diversity. Educational Technology, pp 27-30.
Poole, J. A. (2005). Journey toward multiculturalism. English Journal, (94)3, 67-70.