Building Evaluator Competencies Through Graduate Education: Promising Results from a Small-Scale Study

This study examines the application of the 2018 American Evaluation Association Evaluator Competencies in graduate-level program evaluation courses, specifically an introductory course and a practicum course, to teach novice evaluators how to plan and conduct evaluations in educational settings. Through self-assessments, journaling, and goal setting to acquire specific sets of competencies during the practicum, the novice evaluators reflect on their learning experiences, perceived levels of competencies, and key events that facilitated building their competencies in evaluation. The findings of this study demonstrate how novice evaluators developed their competencies in evaluation through these graduate educational courses, with implications for future research and educational development.