Workshop notes
What does ‘being Pākehā’ have to do with evaluation practice?
Description of the ‘octopus’
The ‘octopus diagram’ is framed using Symonette’s (2004) ‘inside-out, outside-in’ paradigm for cultural
competence.
The concept of ‘inside-out’ refers to the process of reflection on ‘self-as-instrument and self-in-context’
(p.99) and comprises half of the territory that needs to be explored for cultural competence. Pākehā
evaluators who enter the conversation from this direction are focused on what it means to be Pākehā, how
this might shape our practice and what these things mean for whether and how we should engage with
Māori and others. The three arms of the heuristic on this side focus firstly, on identity and how we name
and know ourselves culturally, secondly, on how that knowing shapes our sense of belonging and place in
this country, and our understanding of the impact of culture and race in this land and in evaluation
endeavours, and thirdly, understanding our own personal drivers and sense of responsibility or otherwise
for highlighting culture in evaluation practice or choosing not to do so.
Symonette’s concept of ‘outside-in’ frames the second half of the territory. This concept involves
‘expanding and enriching one’s diversity-relevant knowledge and skills repertoire and one’s professional
evaluator’s toolkit’ (Symonnette, 2004, p. 99). Pākehā evaluators who enter the conversation at this entry
point are focused on ‘the other’, on acquiring skills and knowledge about Māori (or other ethnic groups),
and ideas about ‘how to’ work cross-culturally in order to traverse unfamiliar territory. The first two arms
on this side (top left) are focused firstly, on learning Māori language both as a method of communication
and as a tool for better understanding Māori culture, and secondly on learning about Māori tikanga
(culture, custom, protocols) and the thinking, skills and understanding about research and evaluation with
Māori that shape the context for working cross-culturally. The third arm (bottom left) focuses on
relationships with Māori colleagues with whom we might work, who can partner or assist us to carry out
appropriate evaluations, how we might view and approach these relationships and our role in them, and
how we might identify and troubleshoot issues of a cultural nature that arise. The fourth arm focuses on
how we see our role, relationships and responsibilities with our Pākehā colleagues, working together
towards culturally responsive practice in Aotearoa New Zealand.
References
Aotearoa New Zealand Evaluation Association (2011). Evaluator competencies.
http://www.anzea.org.nz/images/documents/110801_anzea_evaluator_competencies_final.pdf
Consedine, R., & Consedine, J. (2005). Healing Our History. Auckland, Penguin.
Snedden, P. (2005). Pakeha and the Treaty – why it’s out Treaty too. Auckland, Random House.
Symonette, H (2004). Walking pathways toward becoming a culturally competent evaluator: Boundaries,
borderlands, and border crossings. In Thompson-Robinson, M., Hopson, R. & SenGupta, S. (Eds.). New Directions
for Evaluation: In Search of Cultural Competence in Evaluation: Toward Principles and Practices. Vol. 102, p. 95109. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Torrie, R., Roorda, M., Peace, R., Dalgety, M., Bailey, R. (forthcoming). Peeling open the kiwi: Reterritorialising
[white] evaluation in Aotearoa New Zealand. In Hood, S., Hopson, R., Obeidat, K., Frierson, H. (eds) Continuing
the Journey to Reposition Culture and Cultural Context in Evaluation Theory and Practice, Evaluation and Society
Information Age Publishing
Citation:
Peace, R., Torrie, R., Dalgety, M., Roorda, M., Bailey, R. (2013). What does ‘being Pākehā’ have to do with
evaluation practice? Presentation to the 2013 anzea Conference: ‘Evaluation “at large” – Local, national and
global influences. 22-24 July. Alexandra Park, Auckland.
The ‘octopus’
Please acknowledge source if using this tool. Torrie, R., Roorda, M., Peace, R., Dalgety, M., Bailey, R. (forthcoming). Peeling open the kiwi:
Reterritorialising [white] evaluation in Aotearoa New Zealand. In Hood, S., Hopson, R., Obeidat, K., Frierson, H. (eds) Continuing the Journey to
Reposition Culture and Cultural Context in Evaluation Theory and Practice, Evaluation and Society Information Age.