| Session Title: Culturally Responsive Leaders: Toward Transforming and Adapting Communities for Public Good |
| Multipaper Session 903 to be held in Wekiwa 3 on Saturday, Nov 14, 3:30 PM to 5:00 PM |
| Sponsored by the Multiethnic Issues in Evaluation TIG |
| Chair(s): |
| Shane Chaplin, Duquesne University, shanechaplin@gmail.com |
| Discussant(s): |
| Karen Kirkhart, Syracuse University, kirkhart@syr.edu |
| Ricardo Millett, Ricardo Millett & Associates, ricardo@ricardomillett.com |
| Abstract: The American Evaluation Association/Duquesne University Graduate Education Diversity Internship Program (AEA/DU GEDIP) is a pipeline development program designed to both increase the number of evaluators of underrepresented groups in evaluation and to develop future leaders from these underrepresented groups in the profession. In the context of leadership development, the program works on two levels reflecting a key distinction in the leadership literature made by Heifetz (1994) between technical problems requiring authority (technical know-how or expertise, i.e. changing a tire) and problems requiring leadership (that is, complex issues without a clear solution that require adaptation, i.e. eliminating poverty). During the internship, interns are taught specific evaluation skills as they work on an evaluation project. This helps them address any technical problems as these arise in their evaluation work, and begins the lifelong process of creating authorities/experts in the field. Also interns are simultaneously challenged to adapt to and confront problems that go beyond any technical knowledge, that is, complex problems (in this case surrounding cultural responsiveness) that require leadership and not simply authority. The papers in this session reflect the specific work and struggles of interns as they went through this twofold journey of addressing both technical and leadership challenges in the context of their evaluation projects. Heifetz, R.A. (1994). Leadership Without Easy Answers. Cambridge, Mass: Belknap Press. |
| Developing Criteria for Addressing Diversity in Evaluation of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Programs |
| Wanda Casillas, Cornell University, wandacasillas@gmail.com |
| This project is an initial step in the effort to 1) establish criteria for conducting an evaluation which addresses issues relevant to diversity and 2) to establish criteria for assessing cultural responsiveness in program planning as part of an evaluation protocol. A secondary objective of this study is to evaluate whether points 1 and 2 are mutually exclusive aspects of evaluation. We predicted that program staff and evaluators working with diverse populations would generate similar taxonomies of culturally competent behaviors and attitudes which may result in one generalizable checklist of criteria that is relevant across domains. In this study we recruited staff from various programs currently conducting evaluations throughout New York State. We also recruited evaluators from around the country that have a concern with diversity issues in evaluation as identified by their affiliation with American Evaluation Association topical interest groups with a diversity focus. Participants were asked to generate statements about behaviors and attitudes which address diversity in evaluation and program planning. By using concept mapping methodology (Trochim, 1989, Quinlan, Kane, & Trochim, 2008) we employed a participatory approach to establishing criteria for evaluating and program planning for diverse populations. This method invited various stakeholders to contribute to the development of criteria and also allowed us to analyze differences between stakeholders. |
| Examining Stakeholder Input: A Culturally Responsive Evaluation of the Women's Resource Center Student Volunteer Program |
| Brandi Gilbert, University of Colorado at Boulder, brandi.gilbert@colorado.edu |
| This paper explores the experiences of college students participating in the Women's Resource Center (WRC) Student Volunteer Program. The mission of the WRC is to create a campus environment where women will thrive. Staff and students at the Center ground their work on seven key foundations; action, celebration, leadership, learning community, social justice, spirit of collaboration and support. Within the past few years, the role of the WRC has been changing. One of their new goals is to do a better job of equipping their volunteers for the changing role that they are now beginning to serve. In this context the WRC has moved away from serving as a referral bank and is now moving towards having student volunteers serve in a more active role to develop and facilitate programming that they are interested in pursuing. The evaluation was conducted using a culturally responsive framework, that incorporated a great deal of stakeholder participation. Data was collected through face-to-face interviews with program staff and participants and through document analysis. This assessment assisted the Women's Resource Center staff in restructuring the Student Volunteer Program. |
| Assessing the Influences of Evaluability Assessment: An Exploratory Study of Changes in Organizational Attitudes and Behaviors Towards Program Evaluation |
| Syreeta Skelton, Georgia State University, sskelton@hotmail.com |
| The Early Assessment of Programs and Policies to Prevent Childhood Obesity is a collaborative project specifically aimed at identifying and assessing local programs and policies with noteworthy success in improving the eating habits and physical activity levels of children for their readiness to engage in full-scale rigorous program evaluation. The framework used for this study is the evaluability assessment (EA) method, coined by Joseph Wholey. By design, the EA process involved these childhood obesity prevention programs and policies in site visits, interviews, document reviews, logic modeling, and technical assistance activities. While the primary focus of the EA has been upon identifying those programs and policies that are the most viable candidates for rigorous outcome study, a secondary interest of this research is upon how EA process use, in particular, influences organizational attitudes and behaviors towards program evaluation. Using follow-up survey data collected electronically from participating childhood obesity prevention programs and policies, changes in attitudes and behaviors regarding program evaluation resulting from their experiences in EA will be explored. |
| Engaging Students, Engaging Success: An Evaluation of North Lawndale Chapter Prep High School |
| Asma Ali, University of Illinois at Chicago, asmamali@yahoo.com |
| North Lawndale College Preparatory High School was founded in 1996 to provide educational and social supports for students from academically high-risk communities. In the North Lawndale community where the school is located and derives a majority of its students, only 17% of students graduate from high school. The purpose of this evaluation is to document and analyze NLCP's practices as well as the success and challenges of its students once they matriculate to college. More specifically, this evaluation seeks to explore the students' resiliency and its' influence on the students' aspirations and achievements (Freeman, 1997; Kozol, 1991; Ladson-Billings, 2006; McDonough, 2004). Together with information collected from current students and other school stakeholders, the alumni data collection strategies will help the team understand which factors enhance the creation, support, and development of African American and Latino students' personal, educational and social opportunities and achievements that fortify them to persevere during their postsecondary years. As a part of her AEA Internship work, Ali will be responsible for the design and execution of the alumni survey and contribute to the qualitative aspects of the alumni study. |
| Emerging Findings for Making Connections (MC) |
| Donna Parrish, Clark Atlanta University, sistachristian_p11824@yahoo.com |
| Research on Atlanta neighborhoods in 2000 revealed that many of the most vulnerable families live in five of Atlanta's oldest neighborhoods located just south of Downtown. These neighborhoods comprise a once-thriving African-American community that has experienced a great deal of property disinvestment, population decrease, and general economic decline over the past 30 years. To be a catalyst to strengthen families in these neighborhoods, the Annie E. Casey Foundation has been working to promote neighborhood-scale programs, policies, and activities that contribute to strong, family supporting neighborhoods. The Making Connections (MC) cross-site survey provides a unique opportunity to track the movement of families into and out of low-income, urban neighborhoods and explore ways in which neighborhoods may be supporting or undermining family well-being. I will present emerging findings from a cross-site analysis of family mobility and neighborhood change in the Making Connections sites. We hope this information can help the MC site teams adapt and strengthen their local strategies, and may also catalyze further discussion about what it means to implement a neighborhood-based family strengthening initiative. |
| Native American Perspectives of Gatekeeper Training in the Garrett Lee Smith Youth Suicide Prevention and Early Intervention Program |
| Cynthia Williams, Georgia State University, cynthiawilliams@yahoo.com |
| The Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Act of 2004 was the first to provide funding for the development, evaluation, and improvement of suicide prevention programs administered by SAMHSA's Center for Mental Health Services. The cross-site evaluation of the GLS Suicide Prevention Program is among the largest systematic efforts to date to assess the ability of suicide prevention programs and one of the first national evaluation efforts to attempt to fill gaps in understanding and to establish benchmarks for future research in the area of youth suicide prevention. The study has two components: one related to campus suicide prevention programs and one funding state and tribal programs. This paper specifically examines the tribal programs and suicide prevention training. It concentrates on the process stage of the evaluation, consisting of qualitative and quantitative data from tribal programs on post-training utilization, key milestones and activities related to implementation of suicide prevention plans, the number of trainings and individuals trained, and referral networks. This paper seeks to address questions specific to Native American training participants. It will also discuss the role the results might play in trainings modified for specific populations. |