| The field of evaluation has grown in recent years, as evidenced by an increase in the number of professional evaluation organizations worldwide and a greater demand for evaluation services in a variety of contexts. Questions persist, however, regarding evaluation competencies as well as how universities prepare future evaluators. A three-stage, mixed-methods study was conducted to examine desired evaluation skills within the job market and university-based evaluation education programs.;First, an inductive analysis of 70 job descriptions (35 U.S., 35 international) was conducted and was used to augment an existing evaluation competency taxonomy (Dewey et al., 2008). Results revealed a range of opportunities for evaluators based on the skills desired by employers, as well as a set of key skills relevant for evaluation practice across work contexts.;Second, an online curricular document analysis was conducted to identify and examine degrees offered by evaluation education programs. Results indicated substantial growth in evaluation education programs from 1980 to present, with 106 universities offering 178 degrees across the world. The most significant growth was observed for certificate and master's degrees. Further findings showed differences in the type of curricula covered across degree tracks and by academic department.;Finally, a crosswalk analysis was conducted to explore the alignment between desired evaluation skills and university curricula. Areas of strong alignment were identified in quantitative design and statistical analysis. Conditional alignment was found related to qualitative designs, mixed methods, evaluation theory. Less alignment was found related to evaluation capacity building, management, and program design and implementation. Implications for the evaluation profession, practitioners, and evaluation education programs, as well as future directions for research are discussed. |
