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Abstract
The U.S. population 65 and older is projected to increase in size and diversity (Huntley-Hall, 2017; Vincent & Velkoff, 2010). In addition, current mass culture, which prioritizes the visual over other senses, has been described as hyper-visual (Knowles & Sweetman, 2004). As culture changes with the rise of and the access to digital visual technologies (Knowles & Sweetman, 2004) and with the increased diversity of the population, particularly the older adult population (Huntley-Hall, 2017; Vincent & Velkoff, 2010), research and evaluation need to respond to those trends with frameworks and methods that are tailored to attend not only to the research questions, but also to the values and cultural needs of participants. Responding to this need, I evaluated a community-based Healthy Aging Program (HAP) for older adults using the combination of two frameworks: culturally responsive evaluation (Hood, Hopson, & Kirkhart, 2015) and values engaged, educative framework (VEE) (Greene, DeStefano, Burgon, & Hall, 2006).This dissertation responds to Hood, Hopson, and Kirkharts (2015) call for more research on evaluation, including examples of culturally responsive evaluations and the reflection on the articulation of CRE with other evaluation frameworks. This call was addressed in several ways. For the current study I was able to: (1) provide an example of a culturally responsive evaluation undertaken from the values engaged, educative (VEE) framework designed by Greene, DeStefano, Burgon, and Hall (2006); (2) provide a reflection on the articulation of CRE and the VEE framework; (3) test the transferability of the VEE framework from STEM education to community-based programs and proposed adding organizational capacity a new element of the framework; (4) propose photo elicitation methods as culturally responsive with older adults; (5) propose the use of photo elicitation methods to foster evaluative processes such as self-reflection and self-reflexivity; and (6) examine how photo elicitation methods have been used in the past to suggest the future use of consistent terminology.