Youth participation in evaluation
| Author | Pam St Leger,Catherine Bell |
| Date | 01 March 2007 |
| DOI | 10.1177/1035719X0700700102 |
| Published date | 01 March 2007 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
3
Evaluation Journal of Australasia, Vol. 7, No. 1, 2007, pp. 3–11
REFEREED ARTICLE
St Leger and Bell—Youth participation in evaluation
Youth participation in evaluation
Young people should be seen AND heard!
This study reports on the evaluation of two Australian
educational initiatives that involved a high degree of
youth participation in the evaluation process. Both
evaluations involved capturing youth perspectives
through photographic portfolios as one of the data
collection methods, in order to portray young people’s
understandings of the relationship between leadership
and the potential to create change in their communities.
The article describes two initiatives: r.u.MAD?, a
youth philanthropic program, and the Glenormiston
Leadership Pilot Program for Year 9 students, and
provides a brief overview of the evaluation findings in
relation to each initiative.
The main fi ndings of the r.u.MAD? evaluation were that
students and their teachers believed that the r.u.MAD
framework had enabled them to make signifi cant
differences in their school environments or local
communities and that links with local communities
were strengthened. Students also reported that their
experiences in r.u.MAD? projects had given them
increased organisational and leadership skills.
The main fi ndings of the evaluation of the Glenormiston
Leadership Pilot Program were that the rural setting and
proximity to the sea provided a rich site for leadership
program for Year 9 students, particularly those who had
grown up in Melbourne. The evaluation also found that
the program model was effective in terms of developing
skills in leadership and independent learning.
The article also explores some of the issues and
challenges that surround youth participation in the
evaluation of educational programs that have a strong
leadership and empowerment focus. In addition, some
comments are made about the use of photographs as
an evaluation strategy.
Pam St Leger
Catherine Bell
Pam St Leger (top) is a Senior
Lecturer with the Centre for
Program Evaluation at the
University of Melbourne.
Email: <pksl@unimelb.edu.au>
Catherine Bell (bottom) is a
Research Associate with the
Centre for Program Evaluation
at the University of Melbourne.
Email: <belepic@bigpond.net.au>
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